Twins, Knights and Traitors
by Katherine Moonhawk
Summary: When a drunken Gwaine saves magical twin girls heading to Camelot, he offers to accompany them- and not just for the hope of a free snog. As the plot thickens and Merlin gets involved, they realize they all have secrets-but will it be too late?
1. Rescues and Secrets

**AN: **Hi! At last, I've gotten round to writing a Merlin fic! Can I just say, I am LOVING this series, and Colin Morgan is gorgeous and and and yeah...

So this is my first fic for this fandom- so please don't be too harsh, I'm trying my best! It's going to be co-written by me and MaryAndMerlin- whos doing the next chap (and is frankly awesome)

This is set after the Gwaine episode, so clearly some **SPOILERS FOR S3XE4**

Merlin, Arthur, and all the faves will make an appearance- this is sort of a prologue really, hopefully to get you asking lots of questions!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Merlin, the BBC, or even Colin Morgan- and the last is the one which causes me the greatest sorrow... however, all orginal characters and ideas belong to me and Maz, so DO NOT STEAL. Pretty please.

Enjoy!

* * *

It was twilight in Camelot. The grey shadows clung to the forest outside the city like dusty spider webs, growing as the sun's dying light faded further into the night. The forest itself was quiet- eerily so, and still-though the crunch of feet through the undergrowth replaced any natural sound.

A would be knight, drunk and banished, stumbled along a rough track, a flask of ale in one hand as he sang horrendously off key.

"_I once came into Camelot,_

_I didn't stay for lo-o-o-ng,_

_I met a friend and a pretty girl_

_And now I sing this song._

"_I met a corrupted king" _Here the knight paused, laughing mockingly at himself and taking a swig from the flask before continuing with even more gusto than before.

"_And his son a golden prince_

_and maybe I thought that this_

_blue blooded man was worth it."_

He finished in a low, quiet voice, more of a whisper to himself. Sobering instantly, his eyes dark, the man disgustedly tipped the rest of the flask onto the ground, tying it to his backpack.

He ran a dirty hand over his face, wiping away some of the sweat, and laughed a little again as he brushed his hair away from his forehead.

"What would Merlin think of me now?"

He bit the inside of his cheek, then straightened, marching more purposefully through the trees. Behind him, Camelot still loomed over the trees.

Gwaine didn't look back.

X

"How long now?"

A tall, slender girl turned to her companion as they climbed the side of a gully in the same wood. Her friend- who was identical to the other in all but eye colour and her lack of freckles, shrugged and sighed, seeming a little impatient.

"I dunno Lil- how could I? I mean- if you ask again, I could try and remember the last time I went to Camelot. Not that it would help, since I never have."

Lil pulled a face. "First, it's Lilian- Lil makes me sound like a kid." The other girl didn't comment and she continued. "Second, I was just wondering- I mean yeesh, it doesn't hurt to make conversation."

Lilian threw her hands in the air in melodramatic exasperation, and the other smiled in spite of herself. "Asking the same question more than a dozen times is not making conversation."

Lilian whirled on her, then grinned easily when she saw her friend was too.

"Fair enough Amelia- what do you want to talk about?"

Amelia shrugged again, lifting the small pack on her back a little higher as they got closer to the ridge of the gully.

"Marcus? I mean- I want to see him too, but...don't you think it's a bit weird- him suddenly getting in touch after all these years?"

Lil snorted. "You think too much. This is _Marcus_ we're talking about, he probably just forgot the name of the village or something." She laughed at her own thought, eyes shining as she talked about the boy.

Amelia let a small, shy grin creep across her features. "Fair enough. He probably did."

Lil's beam grew wider when her friend agreed, and she practically skipped up the rest of the incline. "Yep, that's Marcus. Forgetful, absent minded, mental-"

"Clumsy," Amelia interjected and Lil nodded, counting off the qualities on her slender fingers.

"Clumsy, funny, did I say mental?"

She turned, though she kept walking up the hill, as she asked in jest. This meant, as her foot found its way over the lip of the hill, she didn't notice the rag covered man creeping up behind her.

Amelia did. Blue eyes suddenly shining gold, the girl shouted a warning even as she threw the man back with magic. Startled, Lil spun as another man came running at her- a sword drawn and in the air.

Instinctively, the girl fell into a fighting stance, crouching. Once the man was within an arms reach, her eyes shone gold and he was thrown against a tree- dropping the sword as an invisible force slammed into him.

Scooping it up, Lil warily scanned the trees whilst Amelia settled into a similar graceful crouch behind her.

"You ok Mimi?"

Amelia growled. "You _know_ I hate that name!" She flung a dagger, and as her eyes shone it flew with unerring accuracy into the neck of the next bandit running from the cover of the trees.

Lil lifted her sword as two more came running at her, using it to cut one down whilst using her magic to make the earth crumble beneath the other, burying him up to his chest.

"I don't think this is the time! Besides, you always call me Lil!"

Amelia was opening her mouth to reply when there was a collective war-cry, and dozens of angry thieves came stampeding from the undergrowth, murder in their eyes. Lilian straightened, as did Amelia.

Lil readjusted her grip on her sword, whilst Amelia withdrew an arrow from the quiver tied to her pack and took her bow off her torso, preparing to shoot. Her eyes glowed, and her face was fiercely intent- pale features cold and eyes glowing unnaturally bright as she murmured.

"Ready?"

Lilian lifted her chin, staring the closest bandit straight in the eyes with her own- burning molten gold as she grasped her sword with both hands, getting into a defensive position.

"Of course."

X

Gwaine pressed a hand to his pounding skull, regretting tipping the ale away already. Why did something so nice have to have such horrible side effects?

It took several moments for the sounds echoing through the woods to penetrate his fogged mind- but when they did, his hand fell from his head to his sword as his eyes quickly scanned the woods.

He could see nothing, but the noise was unmistakable, and carried easily in the otherwise tranquil evening- men yelling and screaming, the clash of swords, the pounding of feet.

He took a second to hide his pack in some bushes, and mark the location with 3 twigs shoved in the ground, then he set off after the source of the noise at a run.

His heart pounded and his breath burned, and he reveled in the opportunity to forget everything except the feeling of his body forcing him through the undergrowth. Ignoring the occasional branch, and jumping nimbly over exposed roots and hidden burrows, the noise grew louder and louder as Gwaine got closer.

His first encounter with the battle was a body- face first on the ground, the bloody head of an arrow sticking through its back exactly where the heart would be- Gwaine tried not to comprehend the incredible skill of the archer who'd shot the man. Instead he leapt over the corpse and kept going.

The bodies increased as he got closer, and Gwaine wondered how many people could possibly be involved in this fight for there to be so many casualties- he even considered turning back. However, he quickly quelled the idea- someone may need his help. Clearly these people were bandits, and whoever they'd attacked may need the use of an extra sword hand.

A sword came down towards his head and Gwaine ducked and parried before he really had a chance to think. In seconds his attacker was on the ground, but already there was another coming- his face half hidden by a torn soiled cloth. Gwaine let out a battle cry and threw himself at the thief.

Around him, the others pre-occupied themselves with the sorceresses, as of yet unnoticed by their gallant would be saviour.

X

That's not to say the girl's hadn't noticed _his_ arrival though.

"Who's that?" Amelia shouted to Lil over the battle cry of a man she took down easily with a dagger from her belt.

Lil frowned, her eyes shining as the tree above the man in front of her suddenly stooped and threw him down the valley. She turned to Amelia.

"Who's who? I don't make a point of getting to know bandits."

Amelia rolled her eyes, which glowed golden as she spun and muttered an incantation which made the dagger she'd just thrown lift out of one man's body and fly into another wild eyed thief who was running at them with an axe.

Having dealt with the latest attacker, she put a hand on her hip. "Thanks Lil, I gathered that. _That_ guy. The one that's fighting _for_ us clotpole."

Lilian frowned, and unthinking she sent her magic into a fierce blow she dealt a man who decided to get too close- sending him flying.

"That was uncalled for- I am _not_ a clotpole."

Amelia rolled her eyes and turned back to the battle, holding up her hands as she caused a rain of branches to fall onto a pair of men running towards them.

"Just tell me if you recognize him."

Lilian huffed, but did as she was told, eyes searching out an anomaly in the greatly diminished mass of outlaws.

There- a tall, dark haired man threw himself valiantly against one man and then another. As she watched, he twisted one of the thieves swords out of their grip, catching it and turning it on a different man as they came at him from behind.

She couldn't help a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. "Nice move," she murmured.

Amelia's urgent cry dragged her out of her fascination with the frankly handsome man fighting for them.

"_LIL!"_

Lilian looked up in time to see an arrow flying towards her- she had no time to duck, and reacted instinctively, eyes shining brilliantly as the weapon froze in mid air and spun back towards her attacker. She didn't notice the unknown man glance up and see the magic- or his expression of shock.

Instead, breathing a shaky sigh of relief, Lil took up her sword again, waiting for the next attacker. Amelia backed up to her, fighting hand to hand now with a sword she must have taken from one of the bandits.

"Pay attention!" Though her words were scolding, Lilian could tell Amelia was shaken, and nodded.

"Sorry Mimi." Amelia said nothing, just turned towards one of the remaining survivors and swung a burning sword, taking him down with one blow.

As Gwaine and the girls continued to fight, the bandit's numbers dwindled, growing less and less until finally the few remaining simply fled.

Gwaine refrained from going after them- he knew Arthur would be more than capable of dealing with them, and besides- these girls- apparently magical, intrigued him. Slinging his sword back into his belt, he walked over, slapping on his best, 'charming knight in shining armour' expression.

"My ladies, are you well?"

The one closest to him- who held a deadly, elegant sword in her tiny fist- looked indignant. However, her friend- who must be her twin sister, since they genuinely looked identical apart from their clothes and eyes, laid a hand on the swordswoman's arm, shaking her head a little before speaking.

"We're fine thankyou, and much indebted to you Sir?"

"Gwaine," he supplied with a smile, "though I'm no Knight."

The green eyed girl with the sword frowned- almost like a child. "But I thought- from the way-"

Again her twin stopped her, smiling a little at Gwaine- though the expression seemed rather chilly. "I'm Amelia, and this is my twin, Lilian. We are from a village near the western mountains called Adel."

Gwaine smiled, bowing- a little too low to be considered sincere, taking Lilian's hand as he rose. She was incredibly beautiful- her wavy auburn hair falling dark and rich around her pale face, which was dusted with a scattering of freckles that framed her fierce green eyes.

When he kissed her slender, sword free hand, it wasn't entirely unwilling- and nor did he miss the softness of her skin, though her palm was a little calloused.

"It's a pleasure."

Lilian blushed and tried to hide it, yanking her hand back a few seconds too late and biting her lip. Amelia shot her a suspicious glance and gave Gwaine an icy look that warned him off treating her the same way.

Gwaine took the hint and coughed a little, straightening.

"Well, I'm glad you're both well- it's a miracle you survived such an attack." He said it lightly, one eyebrow raised as he gestured to the dozens of unconscious forms on the ground around the girls. Lilian's eyes widened and she looked to Amelia, who simply folded her arms, meeting Gwaine directly in the eye- though she too knew Camelot's laws well enough.

"A miracle. Indeed- we were so lucky you came to save us."

Gwaine beamed, revealing bright white teeth- far cleaner than those of most travelers, and nodded in agreement. "Yes- you were lucky…it's just like magic."

* * *

Oooooh. Who are the girls? Who's Marcus? Are they a danger to Camelot? What's Gwaine going to do about their magic?

Please please please do berate me for such a horrid ending to the first chap, inquire about the twins, guess about Gwaine and Lil, theorise about Marcus...really, just say anything you think, but say something please, Me and Maz really appreciate it!

Hope you enjoyed it, thankyou for reading!

Kat


	2. You can't be too careful

A/N: Hello! MaryandMerlin here with my first chapter of this fic, I hope you like it as much as you like Kat's and it'll be interesting to see how differently we write. I totally agree though Colin Morgan *swoon*

So, first ever joint fic and with none other than the lovely Katherine Moonhawk so enjoy and please no flames we're lovely people, really.

**Disclaimer:** Do I look like i could own stuff like that? Seriously? But i would love to write for the BBC someday, i really would. Also, all the OC's are mine and Kats so please don't steal.

* * *

Chapter 2 - You Can't Be Too Careful

Twilight had turned to darkness alarmingly fast during the fight and the twins decided that they had come far enough for one night, it seemed unwise to go on and so they set up camp further into the trees but not too far from the road.

Once a small dinner of rabbit was cooking on the camp fire they had made Gwaine decided it was time to ask a few questions, after all one couldn't help but be suspicious. Especially when it came to sorcerers. But he had to make sure that they didn't know he knew or he would just be putting himself in danger.

"So" he said, prodding at the flames "may I ask where two fine ladies, such as yourselves, are travelling so late and so alone?" he looked up then and met their eyes, the cold blue of Amelia's and the warmer green of Lillians.

Amelia opened her mouth to no doubt issue a cutting retort, but she was rendered speechless by the interruption of her more trusting twin.

"We're going to Camelot" Lillian said with a bright smile, that turned into a brief flash of pain before turning into a glare directed at her other half. She had received a rather sharp kick in the shins.

Gwaine fought to stop his eyes narrowing in suspicion as he regarded the two young girls. They didn't appear to be evil, as he had been taught all sorcerers are, but then he of all people knew that looks could be deceiving, take himself for example, his father had been a knight and when he had defended the king's son he had been banished from the land. Uther needed to get his priorities sorted.

Gwaine realised that he had been silent for too long and needed to say something before they got suspicious. "Well really," he smiled charmingly at Amelia for all of the second it took for her eyes to turn to ice before switching to Lillian "what kind of a gentleman would I be if I didn't offer to accompany you?"

He didn't particularly want to go back to Camelot and run the risk of running into Uther but he owed it to the rest of the people who lived there to protect them from a threat that he might be able to stop. He owed it to Merlin, and surprisingly he owed it to Arthur.

"Thank you ever so much sir" Amelia said laying the sarcasm on thick, it was evident that she really didn't like him. "But we really don't need your assistance, so if you don't mind in the morning we'll be parting ways"

"I don't think I can allow that" Gwaine said shaking his head with great regret "Besides how could I leave two such wonderful woman, alone, when they could be attacked at any moment!" Gwaine knew that he really shouldn't be mocking her but he just couldn't seem to control his tone.

"Well, Mimi, he does kind of have a point. I doubt we would have survived today without him. It wouldn't hurt to have another pair of hands, someone to help watch our backs."

All Lil received in reply at her siding with Gwaine, and most likely for the use of a nickname that she obviously despised with a passion, was a glare so frosty that had it been directed at him, he would have flinched.

However to Lil's credit she didn't even bat an eyelash, just raised her eyebrows delicately at her twin- for some reason Gwaine knew they were silently conversing. He didn't know if it was just a twin thing or if it was just because they could do magic and he doubted they'd tell him if they even knew.

After about a minute of their silent conference Lil turned back to him a big smile lighting her delicate features, "We would love for you to accompany us" she said so earnestly that he couldn't help but hate himself for ever thinking she could be evil, but one glance at her sister had him almost cowering, the force of that glare... and he didn't even know what it was he had done to deserve her hatred.

"Wonderful, if you'll excuse me then I'll be going to bed, after all we want to be up early tomorrow if we want to make it to Camelot in good time" and with that he piled dirt on to their campfire, putting it out and turning over- trying to settle into sleep.

X

Lillian prided herself on being a good judge of character, and as she walked along chatting animatedly to Gwaine, she couldn't help but think that he was one of the best people that she had ever met.

Now she knew that she was usually far too trusting of everyone, she had been told on countless occasions by Amelia that she shouldn't trust so easily, but not once had she ever judged someone wrongly, she had always been right and even Mimi couldn't deny that.

He was talking about his life as a child, chattering on and on about something that had happened in his village when one of the local boys had somehow managed to set loose all of the chickens and wreak havoc.

She took this opportunity to study him. Gwaine had a very strong profile: his cheekbones were strong and defined making him look decidedly male; he was tanned, making her think that he travelled near the south border where the weather allowed one to gain a tan like that. His hair she decided perhaps needed cutting but she couldn't decide if she liked it better long, and his eyes were dark and mysterious brown, the type of eyes that a girl could drown in if she let herself and Lillian was finding it very hard to stop. Besides, she may have gotten a little peek at his wonderful physique when he thought they were asleep.

Lillian sighed to herself, a very heartfelt sigh which was quite unlike her because usually she kept her emotions to herself, trying to be strong like Amelia was. But she was the youngest and maybe Mimi had gotten all the bravery when she was born first- it made sense after all, aren't big sisters supposed to look after their little sisters? and how would they do that if the little sister got all the bravery?

"Lil, are you alright?" she was broken out of her thoughts by her sister who was showing one of her rare flashes of concern reserved especially for her.

"Of course I am" she replied, grinning although it was a little forced. "Why would you think I wasn't?"

"I called you three times and you didn't answer" Amelia's brows furrowed as she stepped closer to her sister.

"I was merely wool gathering I assure you" Lil tried her best to make her sister believe it but she knew it was futile, Mimi knew her far too well to be fooled by that simple visage but maybe it would hide it from Gwaine at least.

"Hmm, right then lets get going again, after all if we make good time to Camelot we'll be able to get somewhere to stay the night before we go to find Marcus" she nodded swiftly and turned around- walking off again.

"Who's Marcus?" Gwaine whispered to Lil as they trailed a bit farther behind .

"None of your business" called back Amelia turning to face him and walking backwards. "I have very, very good hearing" she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Well, I know that now" he said nodding at her. "Tell me Amelia," he smiled winningly at her "how can such a beautiful sweet girl like you resist a handsome boy like me! We'd make a wonderful pair don't you think?" as he had spoken he'd walked up to her and threw an arm round her shoulders but she shrugged him off.

"I swear that if you touch me, or try it on with me once more I will personally make sure that you are unable to have children"

Lillian clapped a hand over her mouth in a vain attempt to hide the giggle that escaped the confines of her fingers. Amelia paid her no attention and just turned around and kept on walking.

Gwaine turned back to Lil though "You laughing at me?" he asked mock menacingly.

She shook her head, trying to look innocent but failing miserably.

"You are!" he accused pointing at her in an offended manner. "You're laughing at me! How can I go on now? I'm terribly self conscious you know."

"That, I find hard to believe" drawled Amelia from in front of them.

"Honestly I am!" he declared.

"And yet look just how comfortable you've become with us" pointed out Lil "surely a more self-conscious man would not be so bold"

"Shhh!" he whispered "You're ruining my act!" Lil threw her head back and laughed, she couldn't for the life of her remember when she'd had so much fun.

X

Amelia sighed to herself as she heard Lil laugh, she knew that she had no valid reason for not liking Gwaine but she just couldn't help but feel that there was something important that she was missing.

The sooner that they got to Camelot, the sooner they could leave this Gwaine alone and get on with their lives away from him.

Amelia sighed as she thought of why they were making the long journey to the strange city, she wasn't sure why Marcus had contacted them after all these years, he never had before and they had been best friends, maybe even a little more, but that had all passed when he left.

Marcus had lived in their little village and they had grown up together, he had been an orphan- a very quiet boy but they had taken him with them to their little hideouts and made him brave, they had given him a voice. As they grew up Amelia had looked up to him, at some point she felt she may have even loved him.

But when he was 15 he had packed his few belongings and ran away from the baker who had been his master, but never a good one. He hadn't even said goodbye and that tore Amelia's heart in two but she tried to tell herself that he hadn't had the time, or that he would have if he could have.

But there was always that sad little voice in the back of her head that told her time after time…_He never really cared_

Amelia sighed again, this time out loud, a rare moment of weakness that none the less went unnoticed by the two laughing behind her.

This is why she didn't trust this letter, telling her to come to Camelot, she didn't trust Marcus anymore, once she would have trusted him with her life. Now she barely knew him at all.

If he was really still their friend he would have come to see them, the baker had died years ago and so he was in no danger if he did return and why would he bring them of all people within any sort of distance to Camelot!

He knew the laws of the land, he knew what would happen to them. Could he possibly want them dead? After all these years? What could they possibly have done to him? These questions continued to swirl in a mess of confusion around Amelia's usually calm, clear, focused mind. Only one thought was startlingly clear.

After all, he knew they had magic.

* * *

So, what does Marcus really want? What will Gwaine do with his knowledge? Turn them over to Uther? Is Lil too trusting? And what will it take to melt Amelia's frozen heart?

You'll just have to read on won't you! Please, please, please review! If you have any questions i'm sure Kat will tell me and i'll answer them for you!

Hope you enjoyed it, Thank you for reading!

Mnm x


	3. An Inn and strangers

**AN: **Hi again- Kat here! *waves* sorry this has taken sooo long, but it's a pretty substantial chap so I hope you enjoy it!

Right, if you've forgotten:

- Gwaine discovered the girls when they fought off bandits- he also discovered they had magic.

- he decides not to reveal their secret, but to keep an eye on them, and offers to accompany them to camelot.

-the twins are coming to Camelot to visit their one time friend Marcus, who Amelia possibly loved.

-Lilian is definitely attracted to Gwaine, and perhaps he to her. Amelia disapproves.

- Amelia has a lot of doubts about Marcus' random call for the twins to come to Camelot, especially since he knows they have magic.

Ok, also, MERLIN finally appears in this chap- hooray!

Enjoy!

* * *

The next day a frost had set in, and Lilian shivered as she gradually opened her eyes, moaning softly. She was so _not_ a morning person. Rubbing her eyes, she glanced over to Amelia: instinctively checking her twin was alright. The other girl was fine, sleeping soundly still- she'd stayed up for most of the night, keeping watch for danger and an eye on Gwaine. Lilian sighed- she knew her sister too well to try and persuade her otherwise, but she wished she'd let him be.

Catching the slight frown marring Amelia's pale brow, Lil's fingers twitched, wanting to smooth it- to make her slightly older sister better. She wondered what was bothering the girl- Marcus' unexpected letter, and questionable motives? Or just Gwaine again? Or maybe going to Camelot with their magic in full knowledge of the law…?

Lil was far less naive than her sister gave her credit for, and wished her twin wouldn't take the whole burden on herself.

"You're awake then?"

Lil was startled from her musing by Gwaine's unexpected comment. She glanced up, blushing, and nodded trying to hide her embarrassment with a slight grin.

"How long have you been up sir knight?"

The corner's of Gwaine's mouth curled up a little at the name which wasn't quite an insult, and shrugged. "Since first light."

Lil's eyes widened and she shrugged off her blanket, rolling it up and stuffing it into her pack whilst she tried to subtly smooth down her hair. She assured herself she'd take care of her appearance with anyone, not just him, and that she wasn't at all curious as to whether he'd watched her while she slept, or anxious about what she might have said whilst she dreamt.

At the thought of her dreams Lil's blush deepened, and she crouched under the pretence of rearranging the things in her pack as she thought of how she'd spent her time in the dreamworld. Mostly in his arms, if she recalled correctly. Lil bit her lip and gently tapped Amelia on the shoulder- twice, knowing the girl would be up within a matter or minutes now.

Gwaine held out a rabbit leg, seasoned with sorrel and a few other herbs he must have found. Lil took it with a grateful smile and closed her eyes, relishing the taste of the meat as she shuffled closer to the fire.

Eyes laughing, she raised an eyebrow at the man's gruff features as his dark eyes bored into the kindling.

"I didn't know you could cook."

Gwaine shrugged, half-heartedly putting on a mockingly charismatic tone. "What can I say? I'm a man of many talents."

Lil stuck out her tongue. "And clichés- seriously, do you have any original lines?"

Gwaine gave her an odd look of pensive admiration, then pulled on a thoughtful one- taking his time to stare into her face. After a while he spoke, and his voice was gruffer than usual, though he fiercely kept her gaze.

"You remind me of the fire- and not just because of the colour of your hair, but because of the way you can laugh and fight with equal ferocity, and you seem to light up every place we visit… and then your eyes seem to breathe with the life of the forest, as bright and bursting as this place in summer- and between the fire and the forest, I don't know if you're life or destruction- you're something beautiful and brilliant and mysterious somewhere in between- and I wish I could figure you out… though, I doubt I ever will."

Lilian stared, and he dropped his eyes again to the fire, glaring at it- before glancing over her shoulder and getting up in a burst of movement, moving away to get his things. She kept staring after him until familiar slender fingers settled on her shoulder.

"You know, much as I hate to admit it- maybe he isn't so bad after all."

Amelia sounded reluctant, but also rarely mischievous, and Lil- still in a daze, nodded abstractedly. Then she moved to pick up her things and put out the fire, and they left- barely a day away from Camelot at last.

X

"I take it back." Amelia growled. "We should have left him to those bandits and made our escape while we could."

Lilian made a sound of protest, but couldn't really contradict her cousin. Oblivious on the other side of the tavern, Gwaine downed another flagon of ale and slammed it down on the counter. The barmaid gave him a look and Gwaine shouted for some meat and cider to wash it down.

Biting her lip, Lil wondered how he was ever going to pay- and she could see the landlady was too, because the robust woman kept shooting him anxious, irritated glances.

"A drink my beauty, I swear this is the best in the land- and I'd know from my travels!"

The stranger shoving an iron tankard in Lil's face grinned at her encouragingly, and though she could tell he was drunk, he didn't look to mean any harm. Timidly she took it and sipped- choking as the fiery liquid burnt down her throat.

The stranger laughed loudly and patted her vigorously on the back- so hard he nearly knocked her over. Lil choked a little more and dropped the cup- and Amelia was about to interfere, her icy eyes sparkling with fury, when a fist flew from nowhere into the stranger's nose.

Rescued from the relentless pounding, Lil straightened and stumbled back, gasping for breath. Amelia went to her, looking as if she wished she could pay the stranger back and unable to because of how close they were to Camelot.

Both of them searched for their mystery hero- and Lil couldn't help feeling a mixed rush of delight and concern when she realized it was Gwaine. She wasn't sure why she was so flattered he'd come to her aid- he'd sworn to after all, but still- as he stood there- suddenly sober and glaring at the other man like an enraged lion, she couldn't help a swell of admiration and shy hope that he may feel as strongly as she was beginning to.

The stranger meanwhile- a reasonably thick set man with light brown hair and bright blue eyes, was bent over and clutching his nose, which was streaming with blood. Ripping a strip of material from his once expensive tunic, the man rolled it into two twists and pressed them to the damaged area to stop the bleeding. Then he straightened to glare at his attacker.

Suddenly, the eyes of both men softened and widened, and the stranger grinned widely.

"Gwaine!"

Before anyone could react- and most of the inn had been staring to see how the encounter would result, the two men had embraced, heartily slapping each other's backs and laughing.

Gwaine pulled back, grasping his friend by the shoulders and surveying him eagerly. "Erec! How've you been?" He laughed. "_Where've_ you been at that?"

Erec shrugged, smiling. "Anyhwere and everywhere my friend, and you?"

Gwaine grinned. "The same mostly."

Their little reunion was interrupted by two sharp resounding slaps, one for Gwaine, and the other for Erec.

Gwaine growled and Erec swore, even as the former turned to Amelia. "What was that for?"

Amelia's eyes narrowed. "My _sister_! You're friend hurt her, and now you don't seem to give a damn. Honestly, I didn't credit you with much, but I thought you might have a better character than _this!_"

Amelia finished with contempt and went over to Lilian, who was sat at one of the tables, sipping a cup of water and looking shellshocked. Gwaine's expression instantly clouded with guilt, and he went to go over, but Erec stopped him.

Lilian jumped a little when the stranger who'd pounded her so thoroughly knelt next to the table where she sat. Ignoring the daggers Amelia was glaring at him, Erec gently took Lil's hand in his.

"My Lady- my name is Erec, and I apologise sincerely for my deplorable conduct. I am afraid I was a little carried away with drink-"

"A little!" Amelia snorted, interrupting.

"- and meant you no harm." Erec persevered regardless, gazing entreatingly into Lil's face. "Please, if there's any way I can earn your forgiveness- or help you at all, let it be said, and I will endeavour to have it done."

Gwaine snorted. "You sound like a real knight Erec." It was clearly not meant as a compliment.

Erec ignored him, keeping his gaze fixed on Lil's face whilst she fidgeted with the cup. Luckily for her, only Amelia could see the water bubbling and dancing furiously as a result of the girl's agitation. Worried, Amelia flicked her twin on the back and the water settled instantly as Lil turned to Erec with a smile.

"It's alright- my name's Lilian, not 'my lady' and you're already forgiven- I guess you just gave me a bit of a fright. Still, I was wondering- we're headed to Camelot, and if you know of any accommodation near the city, or inside, my sister and I at least would be incredibly grateful."

Erec's face lightened. "I'm glad for your forgiveness Lilian, and as for accommodation- I know just the place." Lilian beamed and Erec beamed back, whilst both were watched disapprovingly by their friends and family respectively.

A while later, Amelia and Lilian were already outside the tavern, waiting next to some abandoned stocks with their packs on their shoulders whilst Gwaine said goodbye to his friend.

"You'll take care, won't you Erec?"

Gwaine's question was sincere, and the young man smiled with a nod and a wink.

"Of course." He paused. "You too Gwaine."

The dark man nodded gruffly. "Of course." He grinned a little, and went to go, but Erec grabbed his arm.

"They said you were banished in there- what are you _doing?_ I couldn't stand to know you'd died if I could prevent it."

Smiling gently, Gwaine pulled his arm from the other's grip. "I'm afraid you couldn't prevent it however much you wanted to my friend- yes, I am exiled, but I have no plan to enter Camelot proper. It's just that…" Gwaine held his tongue as he glanced at the girls, realizing he'd nearly revealed their secret to a stranger. In an attempt at nonchalance, he shrugged.

"They need to be kept an eye on- who knows what kind of trouble they'll get themselves in."

Erec raised an eyebrow. "Never had you pinned as a bodyguard Gwaine."

The other's eyes were fixed on the girl's, specifically Lilian, and Erec grinned widely.

"Or a lover…"

Gwaine sighed deeply and met Erec's eyes. "Nor I."

X

"_This_ is decent accommodation?" Though she was annoyed, Amelia's tone wasn't as biting as it could have been- the hut to which Erec had directed them was in reality a cosy little cottage, with a simple kitchen and even a living space, as well as two separate, reasonably spacious rooms- one for the girls and the other for Gwaine.

Unlocking the door, Gwaine stepped inside, surveying the place with some pleasure and sending Amelia an attempt at a disarming grin which failed miserably.

"It's not that bad."

Amelia rolled her eyes, but she didn't contradict him, and Lil and Gwaine counted even that as a minor victory.

Considerably more cheerful, Gwaine offered to fetch some firewood- leaving the girls inside to set up their things.

Lil moved to the window, looking up through the trees to where the citadel loomed impressively.

"It's so _big_." She murmured, eyes wide as she stared at the city, barely half a mile away.

Amelia joined her, taking her hand. "I know. Exciting though, don't you think?"

Lil grinned at her sister, seeing a genuine thrill in the other's features.

"We'll see Marcus soon!"

Lil squealed and flung her arms around her sister. "I know I know I know! Oh I can't _wait!_ It's going to be brilliant!"

Amelia returned the embrace, laughing softly and not having the heart to contradict her twin, or voice her doubts.

Not much later, there was a fire in the hearth, and Gwaine settled down on one of the chairs, Lil next to him and Amelia opposite.

"You going to see him tonight then?"

Lil nodded excitedly. "I can't wait any longer, and she won't say it, but Mimi can't either!"

For once, Amelia didn't even reprimand her twin for the nickname- instead she nodded and smiled contently.

Gwaine frowned, trying to hide a hint of jealousy as he bore witness to Lil's growing excitement.

"What's so great about this guy anyway? How do you know he's not some lunatic pretending to be your friend?"

Lilian's expression instantly fell, and Gwaine bit the inside of his cheek before opening his mouth to make amends. Taking pity on him, Amelia spoke before he could.

"We don't." She said softly. "But-" She sighed,"He was our only friend. In the whole village- the only one who'd even talk to us. Even if it's merely to honour the memory of what he gave us- _friendship_- even if it's only that, we have to go."

Lilian nodded solemnly, and Gwaine raised his eyebrows- wondering why two girls as lovely as they were would have grown up so utterly alone. He supposed it must be to do with their magic- and not for the first time since he'd decided to keep their secret, wondered if the law wasn't as much of a curse on those born with magic as those who didn't have it were made to believe sorcery was.

He hesitantly took Lilian's hand, and she let him, blushing endearingly and trying to hide it by glancing down at her lap. He gently squeezed her fingers then met Amelia's eyes.

"Well, he's not the only one now, and, as a _friend_, I'd warn you to be careful." His eyes moved to Lil's and his voice dropped.

"For me?"

She nodded, smiling a little. "We always are."

X

Merlin wondered if there was ever going to be a time when Arthur and Gaius allowed him space to _breathe_. He doubted it. He'd only just finished mucking out the stables, polishing Arthur's armour, feeding the royal prat's hell hounds and cleaning his chambers when _Gaius_ turns up and tells him to go get some herbs from the market- having the cheek to say _he's_ been busy!

Merlin sighed and muttered something under his breath about good for nothing phyisicians, but secretly he appreciated the chance for a breath of fresh air and an escape from the castle. Deciding he might as well get over his annoyance, he grinned at a few servants rushing past to their duties, and they smiled easily back. Clumsy as he was- Merlin's cheeky, kind spirit had made him a popular figure with the other servants, not that he knew it.

Instead he looked around for Gaius' favourite herb seller- the old man managed to set up somewhere different every time, and Merlin was sure it was something to do with ensuing senility.

Pre-occcupied as he was with his task, he didn't notice twin auburn haired girls pushing through the crowd and barreling towards him as they nervously searched the faces of those around him.

He _did_ notice when one of the girl's literally ran into him, the other fell over her companion, and both knocked him to the floor, sending them all into a chaotic heap. He also noticed a joint rush of magic which dissipated as quickly as it appeared.

Distracted suddenly, he glanced around for the source before realizing his position- flat on his back with two beautiful girls sprawled on top of him. From the corner of his eye he saw Tom, one of the stable hands, suppressing a laugh, and groaned- he'd not hear the end of this for a while.

Remembering his manners, Merlin looked into the face of the girl on his chest- she had beautiful waving auburn hair, and clear blue eyes- not nearly as bright as Arthur's, but somehow prettier anyway. He felt the tips of his ears start to go red and offered a grin.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Merlin- do you mind shifting a bit?"

The girl, who till now had seemed stunned into speechlessness by her own embarassment, turned to the girl on top of _her_ who was nearly as beautiful, only with fierce green eyes instead.

"Lil, come on- get _off_."

Biting her lip 'Lil' scrambled off and held out a hand for the girl who had to be her sister. The girl stood and Merlin sprung to his feet before they could offer him a hand.

For a few moments they all pre-occupied themselves with brushing the mud and straw from their clothes and trying not to meet each other's eyes. At last, the blue eyed girl and Merlin looked up at the same time.

"Sorry, sir- I'm so-"

"Look, I really should have been paying attention-"

Both paused and smiled at each other, awkward but still relieved. Merlin held out his hand.

"Lets start again. I'm Merlin."

The girl's smile widened and her sister watched her with something akin to suspicion. Merlin wondered why.

"I'm Amelia, and as you probably figured out, this is my sister- Lilian."

Merlin nodded, still grinning from ear to ear. "Pleasure to meet you Amelia, and Lilian." He was surprised to find he meant it whole heartedly.

Amelia nodded, still blushing, and looked down at her feet, coughing a little before glancing back up at him. Merlin caught her embarrassment and rubbed the back of his neck.

"So….you new to Camelot?"

Thankful for the distraction, Amelia nodded. "Yes- actually, my friend and I are looking for someone, an old friend. His name is Marcus- he once lived in a village called Adel. Do you know of him?"

Merlin frowned a little, wondering what they could want with Marcus. He knew of the boy- who was a stable hand at the castle. But he was a bully- with a reputation for being particularly selfish and cruel. He wondered why two girls as lovely as these would ever consider him a friend.

Half heartedly he murmured. "You sure you mean Marcus? Not someone else?"

Amelia nodded. "Absolutely- you know him?" She couldn't help but try and figure out why this boy seemed so troubled. Or why she was so bothered that he was.

Merlin shrugged. "Yeah- um, I could take you to him if you like?" Gaius would understand…

Lilian and Amelia nodded eagerly, and Merlin reluctantly complied, leading them back up the street he'd just come down- though he couldn't help feeling a growing sense of foreboding. Something wasn't right here.

And then of course there was the magic he'd felt- and he couldn't help but think the two things were connected….

* * *

Oooh, so, will Merlin guess about their magic? Is Amelia _interested_ in our favourite warlock? What kind of gossip is going to run wild about them? And how will the girl's meeting with Marcus go?

Tune in next time, and please do leave us comments, criticism, thoughts and guesses- all your feedback is massively appreciated,

Thanks again for reading- check out the next chap soon for Maz's contribution!

Kat


	4. A not so warm welcome

**A/N:** Hello again! It's good to be back, my chapter again. I quite enjoyed writing this one, it was fun. Although, maybe my definition of fun is different to other people...anyhoo.

Thanks to suzie0812 for your review it means so much really!

Disclaimer: I own nothing! well, nothing real i do however own Amelia and this laptop and a rather pretty necklace :D ENJOY!

* * *

Chapter 4 - A Not So Warm Welcome

Lillian followed Merlin and Amelia thinking hard, she had never seen her sister as embarrassed, at least not_ this_ embarrassed in a very long time. Not since she had started taking her role as older sister to heart, putting on a mask to the rest of the world. So when they had knocked into this man Lillian had been shocked to see just how much Amelia had reacted.

Thus making her suspicious.

She didn't think that there was anything to fear from this Merlin. He had looked just as, if not more, embarrassed as Amelia had been and his ears had gone red- making him look undeniably adorable.

However,Lil was suspicious because she thought that Amelia might be 'interested' in this young man and of course she had nothing against it... but the last time Mimi had given her heart away she'd had it broken and Lil would be damned if it happened again.

She walked a few paces behind, watching as Merlin and Amelia talked together- seeming to immensely enjoy each others company despite the fact that they had met only minutes before hand in a rather unconventional manner.

Lil may have been the youngest, even if it was by a mere minute, and so duty bound to let her older sister think that she was the one looking after the family but after all '_Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?'_ - Who will watch the watchman? Or woman as the case may be. So Lil would watch Amelia from afar, making sure she was okay.

It didn't take long for Merlin to lead them to the stables but as he reached the door to where Marcus would most likely be there was something on his face. Some emotion written on him. Amelia didn't seem to notice, all she saw was his cuteness and her own embarrassment and to his credit he did try to hide it, but it just wasn't working.

It was confusion, mixed with concern and worry and was something that had appeared on his face the moment Amelia had first asked him about Marcus. But why he would look at them like that because of Marcus was unknown, and Lil doubted that he would just out and tell them if he was going to such pains to conceal it in the first place. Still, something about it made Lil feel more uneasy than she had since they first left home after receiving the letter from their long lost friend.

Merlin must have known Marcus, they both lived and worked in Camelot, so they would have crossed paths at some point- it was impossible for them not to have. So maybe Merlin knew something that they didn't, maybe there was something that Marcus had done... Either way Lil really didn't want to walk into that stable right now.

"Right then" said Merlin "Here we are. Marcus should be in there." Merlin opened his mouth as if he was going to say more but then just shook his head and looked down, suddenly finding his feet very interesting.

"Thank you" Amelia said, sounding very sincere. But this just made the worried look more prominent of Merlin's face. It was at that point that Lil decided for definite that something bad was going to happen.

X

Merlin didn't like this, he didn't like this at all. He had the distinct feeling that he was leading these two lovely girls into danger and that was just something that he couldn't condone.

He tried to take as much time as possible to think about how he could look after them without appearing to do so and thus getting caught himself and not being able to help them if they needed it but he kept getting distracted by the blue eyed twin, Amelia. There was something about her that drew him to her and he couldn't stop himself talking to her.

She was fascinating, as was her twin, and the thing that struck him most was that they were identical. From their height to the way their faces were shaped. All _expect _their eyes. The fact that Lil's eyes were green and that Amelia's eyes were just _so_ blue. It was strange that twins should be so identical apart from their eyes, it wasn't normal. It was almost…magical.

Merlin shook his head- suddenly wondering where on earth that thought had come from. He thought back to when he met them only a few minutes ago, he had felt a distinctive rush of magic but could that have been from them? It could have been anyone. What right did he have accusing these young women with no proof other than the fact that something happened and they were possibly in the wrong place at the wrong time. He'd be as bad as Uther, and he felt sick at the thought.

He finally reached the stable where Marcus would be and, if he was expecting the girls, this was where he would be waiting for them. But there was something that Merlin could never trust about Marcus and he had to do something.

"Right then" he said "here we are. Marcus should be in there," Merlin opened his mouth- considering telling them what he thought, warning them maybe, but he convinced himself that maybe Marcus would be good to them.

"Thank you" Amelia said and as they smiled at him and he watched them go into the stable, somehow he felt less of a man.

To be sure he decided to wait for them to come out safely. He really didn't know why he was so worried about them, he had only just met them today, not even an hour ago and already he felt responsible for them. There was something about how vulnerable they looked- alone in this big city.

X

Amelia was first to enter the barn after they left Merlin outside and the first person she saw was Marcus. He was smiling at her and she couldn't help but smile back at him. He looked the same as he had when he had left, except of course that he had grown taller and older over the years. Lil entered behind her and he switched his smile to her.

"Amelia! Lillian! I'm so glad that you came. It has been too long."

"Many years Marcus, you haven't changed" Amelia smiled softly moving closer.

"Neither have you, well at least not in looks. Personality? Well, on that front you don't know me at all." As he said this his smile evolved from soft friendship to something more sinister. Something that made fear curl in Amelia's stomach. "You're both still young and pretty. Something I'm sure that you won't object to sharing with my friends" he tilted his head slightly and the door behind them closed with a thud as around them appeared six thugs.

"Marcus, what is this?" asked Lil, fear evident in her voice as she and Amelia came back to back.

"This, my dear girls, is payback. Payback because you were always better than me and I hated you for it."

"But Marcus you were our _friend_" Lil pleaded. Amelia said nothing at all because now her fear was turning to anger. How dare they, how dare he! How could he do this to them, they had only had each other for years and now he had assembled these...she couldn't call them men. These thugs to try and harm herself and her sister. And she wouldn't allow that.

"No, you were my setback. I could have been great but you always got in the way, both of you." Marcus looked back to Amelia. "Have you nothing to say?" he asked slyly "didn't think you would. You always were weak Amelia."

"How could you" her voice was ice "we have done nothing to you except be your friend and think you were ours." She walked up to him, keeping eye contact and then quicker than he could blink she had slapped him across the face.

He stood in shock for a minute, this clearly wasn't the Amelia that he remembered and it wasn't, she had changed. His hand rose to where his cheek was red and throbbing and the shocked look vanished from his eyes to be replaced by rage.

"How dare you touch me you filthy little-! Get them!" at his command the thugs jumped into action.

They sized the girls up warily, judging by the state of his cheek and the rage on his face the one who had slapped Marcus had some strength, but the question was did she know how to use it?

That question was answered for them, mere minutes later, when Amelia sighed loudly- evidently fed up with dancing around the first attacker, pulled her fist back and let loose. Knocking out the youngest of them with a black eye.

Oh yes, she knew how to use it.

But now they knew what she was capable of. While two were trying to surround Amelia, Lillian was facing three on her own. No easy feat for a woman of her size. They were, after all, all considerably larger than she was.

The first one came at her leering, arms out wide as he grabbed for her but she managed to dodge him, swiftly ducking under his arms and spinning round so that she was facing the back of his head and drawing her hands together she brought them down upon his skull. He dropped to the floor, a dead weight.

It was then that two hands closed around her upper arms, holding her firmly in place. She couldn't move herself or escape from the position. Lil's eyes widened in panic as she saw another one coming for her and she reacted without even thinking about it.

Her eyes flashed as she used her magic and then the man holding her dropped to the ground unconscious due to the hailstones the size of large potatoes that had just rained down upon his head. In a barn yes this was uncommon but no one noticed apart from the man coming at her who had stopped in his tracks when he saw what had befallen his friend.

Lillian needed to deal with him before he got away, she couldn't use her magic again so recklessly in case someone else saw and then that would be the end of them. So she dealt with this last man the only way she knew how.

She planted a rather sound kick on his jaw. Lucky for her he wasn't that tall, no more so than she herself was.

Meanwhile Amelia had been dealing with her two thugs rather well. She had thrown her fist forward into the one in front of her at the same time as her legs had gone backwards to the thug behind her and she knew by his howl that her foot had found its mark.

But they were not dealt with as easily as the first one had been, they were much larger and so it took more to injure and knock them unconscious. Her actions had only made them more angry and they came back at her with even more ferocity. As they charged Amelia waited until they got close enough before she stepped out of the way and they crashed into one another. Amelia grabbed their hair and thrust their heads together, knocking them out.

Amelia now turned her attention to Marcus who was standing exactly where he had been before, but this time it was not rage that twisted his features, it was fear and he had every right to it.

Amelia's eyes were on fire, she was seething. Not at all in control of her emotions or her actions and this led to her using magic. She blasted wind at him and he crashed into the stone wall, held several inches off the ground.

"Amelia, what are you doing?" Lillian asked, coming closer to her sister, somewhat cautiously she placed her hand on her sisters' shoulder but Amelia just shrugged it off, completely focused on the man before her.

"You're probably wondering what I'm going to do to you" she said- her voice velvet over steel. "Normally you wouldn't be worth the time of day. Scum like you. But you were our friend, and something like this can't go unpaid. And you are going to pay for it" she pulled a knife out of her boot. "you're going to pay for it with your life."

"Amelia no!" Lillian lurched forward "You can't kill him! You don't want that kind of responsibility on your shoulders."

"Its nothing less than what he deserves for trying to do this to us!"

"You don't want to sink to his level!"

"Oh I do, _I do_" she walked up to him an cupped his cheek "and to think, at one point I imagined us together" with that she dropped her hand from him and raised the knife, he turned his head away, closing his eyes and Lil mouthed one last silent 'no!' as Amelia brought the knife down…

…and Marcus slipped from the wall, freed from his bonds.

Amelia sighed as she turned away from the panting man behind her- she couldn't do it. She couldn't kill him. Not their only friend, no matter what he'd become.

"Get out of here. And don't come near us again."

Still shaking, Marcus upped and left- running for his life.

A minute or so later Merlin came in and looked at the six unconscious men, having obviously just seen Marcus running away, and although he knew exactly what happened it was as if he couldn't stop himself. After all what else was he supposed to say except…

"What on earth happened here?"

* * *

So Marcus was bad. Amelia was going to kill him but she didn't. Lil is worried about Amelia because of the fact that she may like Merlin and does our favourite Warlock have a _tendre _for our favourite blue eyed twin?

You'll just have to keep reading!

Maz x


	5. A question of trust

**AN: **Hi! me again, that is Kat, my turn for the chap now. Thanks so much for the faves, alerts and reviews! Please keep 'em coming, they're 'my own personal brand of heroin', and I don't even have fangs!

Also, I'm a bit worried Maz is upset with me- so I want to say here, publicly, that not only is she an aboslutely incredible writing, but one of the best friends I've ever had, I admire her skill and her nature, and I really hope she's ok.

Ok, um, on with the story! Marcus turned out to be baaaad, Merlin and Mimi have eency weency crushes which Lil suspects, and the twins just found out their only friend betrayed them. Gwaine's still stuck in the cottage way too close to Camelot than is strictly legal, and probably being drven crazy by withdrawal symptoms and worry for Lil- who _he_ has a major crush on. Got it?

Enjoy!

* * *

Lil bit her lip anxiously and looked to Amelia, who rolled her eyes. Why did she always have to be the one to explain things like this?

"It turned out Marcus wasn't as friendly as we remembered. He'd rounded up these..thugs to have their way with us as some sort of sick revenge. We managed to defend ourselves." Amelia's tone suggested that was all she was going to say, and though the icy surface was aggressive, Merlin could hear the shocked sadness beneath it.

Behind her, Lil, whose hands had risen to her mouth as she looked around and listened to her sister, suddenly choked and began to sob- falling to her knees as reality came crashing back down into her. Without the adrenalin of the fight, she had to face it. Marcus had betrayed them in the worst possible way- their only friend…And even now she could feel strong fingers bruising her arms as a leering man came at her, licking his lips- the absolute panic that had seized her…

Her control fracturing and then shattering, Lil continued to cry, shaking her head and repeating like a child, "No no no no no no no."

Amelia was by her side in seconds, with Merlin not far behind. Gently taking her twin into her arms, Amelia softly rubbed circles on her back, making hushing sounds and rocking her subtly back and forth. She looked to Merlin, and her icy eyes were shining- for once showing a slight slip in the façade usually reserved for everyone except her sister.

Feeling sick with guilt and pity, and entranced by this helpless side of the fierce girl, Merlin instinctively shuffled over, putting his hand on her arm and hesitantly kissing her forehead, stroking her hair as if she were a very young child. Unable to keep her cool, Amelia just rested against him- not crying, but somehow weaker than before, and together they comforted one another, whilst the men around them lay still.

After a time, Amelia came to her senses, jerking away from Merlin as if she'd been burnt. He tried not to be hurt by the fear flashing into her eyes as she realized how low she'd let her barriers get. Lil's eyes were red and her face was tear stained, but she was calmer now- not so lost, and the only sign she'd been half as devastated as she had been was the firm, knuckle whitening hold she kept on her twin's hand.

"We need to go. Thankyou for your help." Amelia said stiffly.

Merlin frowned a little, glancing outside to where the light was already beginning to dim. "Where will you go? Amelia, you only arrived here today."

Amelia mouth tightened into a thin line as she tried to control all the emotions dancing round her gut and her mind- sadness, anger, confusion, and a flash of delight at the sound of her name on his lips. Unable to prevent a little jump at the corner of her mouth, she answered more graciously.

"Thankyou, we have a friend just outside the city who's waiting for us."

Merlin nodded, and then his face set in resolve. "I'll walk you back."

Lilian glanced to her sister and shook her head urgently, far too quickly to not be suspicious. For some reason, she'd thought for a long time Gwaine wasn't supposed to be anywhere near Camelot, and she just wasn't ready to trust someone else right now.

Smiling at her little sister in understanding, Amelia squeezed her hand and glanced around at the men, now trussed up and coming to, slowly.

"I'd really appreciate it if you explained to whoever's in charge here that this wasn't our fault. We can't leave tonight and I'd really rather not be chased as a criminal or witch or some such."

Merlin had jumped a little when she'd said 'witch' and she wondered why.

Both of them shrugged it off and he nodded. "Of course." His bright, easy smile pulled it's way over his cheeks as he added. "Shouldn't be too hard, I'm the prince's manservant."

Lilian's jaw dropped. "Really?"

Merlin laughed, as mature as she looked, Amelia's twin really could be endearingly childish and he felt himself already developing a brotherly affection towards her. Amelia, well, he just hoped his ears weren't going too red in light of the new respect with which she looked at him.

He nodded hastily and stumbled to his feet. "Yup, don't worry, I'll sort this out for you." He paused, offering a hand to Amelia, who in turn pulled up her sister.

He didn't let go, even after she'd stood- unconsciously cradling her slender hand in his. "Um, and, er, if you ever want any help- just ask for the court physician's quarters or the prince's manservant at the castle- I'd…I'd really love to see you again. " He suddenly realized he was staring deep into Amelia's eyes and blinked, laughing and rubbing the back of his neck as he let go of her hand, gesturing to the twins together. "Um, you know, both of you."

He shifted uncomfortably and then backed out with a clumsy wave, Amelia's voice stopped him.

"Merlin?"

Half out the door, he turned back. "Yeah?"

Her eyes were as guarded as before once again, but there was a certain warmth in them as she spoke and Lilian looked at her suspiciously.

"Thankyou, for everything."

X

"He-did-_WHAT?"_ Gwaine was furious, pacing back and forth across the narrow space in their cottage. Shortly after getting back, Lil had tried to make dinner and burst into tears again, leading to Amelia explaining what had happened, leading to this.

Putting her hands on her hips, the slightly older twin sighed. "Gwaine, you're having a tantrum."

Raising his eyebrows, Gwaine asked incredulously, "are you suggesting I shouldn't_?"_

Pursing her lips, Amelia glanced at her sister, who was sitting at the table and wringing her hands. When she replied her voice was ice.

"No, but you're scaring my sister, and if you don't start speaking at a reasonable level in three seconds I will make you."

There was no assumption in her voice, simple cold knowledge, and remembering the way in which she'd dealt with the bandits when he'd met her, Gwaine immediately fell silent. His eyes drifted to Lil, who was biting her lip and still uselessly wringing her hands, and his gaze instantly softened.

Amelia sighed and went out, muttering something about firewood and secretly smiling at his affection for her twin. That isn't to say she trusted him though- she still left a charm to alert her of danger on the door, but for Amelia, that was like signing a nuclear disarmament treaty, and it was as much leeway as he was going to get it till he proposed or risked his life for her.

Trying not to laugh at various situations in which Gwaine may nobly attempt to defend Lilian and the latter would confusedly deal with the threat easily, Amelia wandered into the woods.

Back in the cottage, Lilian glanced up at Gwaine as he slumped down next to her, leaning back against the table on his elbows and glancing at her nervously. He grinned wryly at himself and then turned a little so he was facing towards her. Blushing now, Lil continued to stare at her hands, squeezing her palms and rubbing her fingers nervously.

A warm, rough hand on her shoulder made her look up, shy and slightly nervous into Gwaine's eyes. For once, she was not at risk of losing herself in their warm chocolate depths, and this new proof of how much of her trust had been destroyed made Lilian bite her lip and glance away.

Gwaine's rag wrapped hand gently took her chin and turned it back to face him, though his expression remained cautiously neutral.

"Hey. It's- I mean, I know it's not alright, but…" He let out an impatient sigh, clenching his fist on his thigh. Lil watched his tense jaw and the curve of his cheek in a sort of hesitant wonder. He turned back to her and her attention returned to his eyes, they really were magnetic.

"You've got me now, ok? Both of you, and…and Lil, I _swear_ I will never betray you like that."

Lil's eyebrows jumped upwards in the middle and her eyes shone with more unshed tears. "How can I know that now?" Her voice was soft and rough from crying, and Gwaine's hand fell from her chin as he looked away.

He held up both hands in a poor attempt at humour. "You seriously think I'd cross your sister?"

Lilian let out a little laugh but Gwaine could see in her eyes that she still wasn't sure. She really didn't seem to realize how beautiful she was, in spirit and body- her freckles cheerfully correlating with the occasionally playful nature she slipped into, and her intense green eyes blazing with secret wisdom and her essentially fierce spirit.

He looked away, staring across the cottage, and she watched him curiously. Occasionally his eyebrows pulled his forehead into a frown, as if he was thinking deeply. Eventually, Gwaine slapped a hand on his thigh, making Lil jump, and he turned to her.

"What is it?" She murmured, quiet and shy, unsure how to approach the sudden determination that had come into his dark features.

He gently took her hand, and Lil's eyes flickered to it in confusion, though she didn't pull away.

"The reason Lilian, that you can trust me, is that, unlike Marcus," Gwaine tried very hard not to spit the name, though she still winced infinitesimally.

"The reason you can trust me is that I love you."

She'd never heard words more sincere cross his lips, and with that he leant forward and pressed his lips to hers in a short, sweet kiss.

It was at that moment Amelia shoved her way back in, arms full of kindling, with a short cheerful, "Back!"

She raised her eyebrows at Lil and Gwaine's position and brusquely set to feeding the fire whilst Gwaine jumped up and away, beginning to rinse the dishes before going into his room.

Lil raised her hand to her lips cautiously, feeling a flush rising steadily on her cheeks, and then turned to Amelia, a beam spreading across her face.

She leapt over to her twin, "he loves me!" she squealed. Laughing, Amelia hugged her twin.

"Wasn't it obvious?"

X

There was a loud rustling crackle outside, as if someone was walking on dried leaves, and Gwaine was wide awake in moments. Grabbing his sword from the side of his bed he crept into the kitchen, ducking beneath the table as a shadow appeared at the door- mind spinning with thoughts of Uther and his banishment.

He was well past the border and he knew it- and never mind himself, what would become of the girls if he was discovered? Still hiding in the shadow, heart pounding, Gwaine watched as the shadow bent and shoved something beneath the door. Getting out from his impromptu hiding place he flung open the door, bare chested, sword in hand.

The woods appeared empty, though somewhere ahead a group of birds startled from their roosts. Frowning, Gwaine watched the trees for a few moments longer before shutting the door and bending down to pick up the folded parchment on the floor.

A cursory read transformed Gwaine's expression from confused to furious, and throwing it open on the table, he went to wake the girls. Trouble had just come calling, and he was going to be damned if this time they wouldn't let him deal with it.

* * *

Oooh, I'll give you three guesses for who the letter from. Plus, what's going to happen with Gwaine and Lil? Will the girls ever see Merlin again? How is he going to explain six unconscious men in the royal stables? And where did Marcus go?

Till next time,

thanks for reading, and please do review- you may even get magical cookies... haha, thanks again!

Kat


	6. Summons

**A/N: **Hello! It's me again! With another brilliant update of Twins Knights and Traitors! I hope you're enjoying it as much as I am enjoying writing it. Also it hasn't been mentioned before but me and Kat have a little group called DREC (Dragon Riding Emrys Club) if you want to join or find out more Kat has a fic on it. Hope you do :D

**Disclaimer: **As much as I want to own Merlin and Colin Morgan and Bradley James and the guy who plays Gwaine, I do not. But I would like to write for the BBC again.

* * *

Chapter 6 – Summons

_Meet me in the stables in an hour or I will reveal your secret._

_Come alone._

_Marcus_

It was a short letter but it spoke volumes and with each word Gwaine got angrier and angrier.

What right did this man have to threaten these girls? They had been nothing but kind to him; shown mercy when he himself would have not. Jealousy, this was what he was basing his claims on, the fact that he was unable to do something that they could. Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic.

"Lillian! Amelia!" he called knowing that they needed to be told, while they didn't know that he knew they had magic he should still stop it getting revealed.

He didn't want Lil to die…and Amelia, of course.

The two girls scurried out of the room they shared looking totally awake and alert, he knew that they'd been up since he had been surprised at the door. Without a word he handed the slip of paper to Amelia and she read it, gasped and then passed it to Lil.

"He wouldn't" Lil denied.

"Oh Lil, of course he would. After what he tried today how could you think he wouldn't?" Amelia sighed.

"What are we going to do?"

"Go. There's no other way. I will be going. Alone."

"Like hell you will" they both turned to Gwaine. "I agree that Lil shouldn't go but I can't in all good conscience allow you to go by yourself especially after what happened today."

"You are not allowed in Camelot." Amelia stated coolly "I will go. You cannot."

"You both seem to be under the ridiculous delusions that I will stay here with out a fuss and to save us all valuable amounts of time in the hour that we are wasting. I can assure you, I will not."

Amelia and Lillian looked at each other intensely for awhile not breaking eye contact and every so often one of them would frown until eventually Amelia sighed and looked away nodding at something.

"Gwaine, I am sorry but you must be left out once more. This is our battle to fight. You can remain with us but you can't come to Camelot."

This was something that Gwaine had known all along but that did not render it any less annoying than it had been when he himself had come to the same conclusion. If anything it just annoyed him more and made him even more difficult to deal with.

However there was now nothing that he could do and so within 10 minutes the girls were ready to go, but Gwaine caught a hold of Lillian's wrist and pulled her back through the door of the cottage closing it.

"Gwaine what are yo-" but he cut her off by leaning down and catching her lips with his own.

They stood for a moment or so, locked in their embrace until finally they had to breathe. Breaking away Gwaine leant his forehead against hers and twirled a lock of her hair around his little finger. Waiting for their breathing to even out.

"Gwaine, I have to go" she whispered but sounded reluctant.

"I know, but promise me one thing. Stay safe. I don't know what I would do without you." He caught her in another scorching kiss before letting her go to Amelia who was quite handily looking at the few remaining stars.

They were headed into danger, and there was nothing that he could do about it and it killed him inside. But at least this time they weren't blind as they headed into it, they knew what they were up against. That didn't make him feel any better though.

X

By the time Lil reached Camelot people were starting to awaken; the sun had risen above the horizon and was casting a rosy pink glow over everything. The weather, it seemed, was not in line with her mood, if it had been you would not even be able to tell morning from night.

"Mimi, promise me you'll be careful" Lil said suddenly and rather desperately clinging to her twin's arm.

"I'm always careful Lil" Amelia said calmly, but there was an edge to her voice. She was angry, more angry than Lil had seen her in a long time.

Lil knew that Amelia saw herself as the head of their two person family and someone had threatened her family twice in one day. After she had shown that person mercy. Amelia's patience had run out- that was one threat too many and now her anger was making her reckless.

She knew that seemed ridiculous, Amelia, cool headed ice cold Amelia being reckless, but Lil had seen it before. It had not ended well, for either side.

"Don't do anything reckless" she warned as they neared the stables.

"Reckless? Me? Don't be ridiculous."

It was meant to be a joke but the low tone suggested that it was anything but. This was only proved when they reached the stables and Amelia threw the door open and called.

"Where are you coward? Come out or I'll make you". She threatened, and she did look very impressive. Lil knew if she could see her eyes they would be chips of ice the way only hers could be, having gotten the blue eyes of the pair.

"Oh!" Lil shrieked as she was dragged backwards. Arms closed around her and she struggled as something was forced over her head. It was some form of necklace…an amulet. Lil discovered she was no longer in control of her body, or, more importantly, her magic. She could still hear and see but she couldn't move.

"Lil!" Amelia had spun around but not moved owing to the threat on her twin''s life at the hands of Marcus. "You little coward. Hiding behind a girl," she spat at him, undisguised venom lacing her tone. Lil felt Marcus flinch behind her.

"At least I'm not a freak" he said harshly but it didn't dint Amelia's armour at all.

"Give her back Marcus" she said, moving closer slowly as if dealing with an animal. Lil felt so helpless, she was supposed to be magic for goodness sake! But she was trapped.

"No, this is my revenge! I want you to kill the king or she gets it!" Marcus shouted, shaking Lil.

"Marcus you're insane. Give. Her. Back"

"You have until the mid winter feast."

"A week!"

"A week, do it or your precious little twin dies" he threatened ,starting to back away. "Come Lillian" and to the girl's great surprise her feet started to move of their own accord. As she followed him out her eyes begged with her twin, begged for help.

"You will regret this Marcus!" Amelia screamed desperately, unable to move. "I will make you pay!"

X

Amelia was in a blind panic as she rushed through the castle in search of the one person she could turn to in this God forsaken place. Merlin. She couldn't for the life of her remember where he said he lived, somewhere in the palace that's all she knew. And that he was the prince's man servant.

The prince…

"Prince Arthur, you're needed by your father…" Amelia blessed her freakishly good hearing and spun around- halfway back down the corridor she found the blonde prince talking to a servant who nodded and scurried away.

"Arthur!" she called, not thinking about propriety and such things, after all who could blame her; her sister's life was at stake here. The prince spun around shocked at being called by his given name, especially by someone he didn't know.

"Erm, do I know you?" he asked, eyeing her in confusion.

"No, no. I've never been to Camelot before in my life. But I need your help. Please can you tell me were Merlin is, I need to find him urgently. My twin's life hangs in the balance!" Amelia could not believe herself, she was acting so open, so vulnerable. It was not like her at all. Recent events had shaken her more than she was aware.

"How can Merlin possibly help?"

"Please Art- My Lord. Just tell me where he is."

"Your in luck, I happen to be heading to find him myself. I will accompany you and he and I will do all we can to save your sister. I am not so high-and-mighty that I would ignore your distress." he turned and started walking purposefully in the direction that she had originally been heading.

"Thank you my lord. You do not know what this means to me."

"Well, I know where he will be. Asleep. Honestly is it so hard for him to get to work on time? I bet he was in the tavern last night. Did you know I found six men unconscious in my stables yesterday? Six!"

Amelia sucked in her breath, waiting for the prince to turn on her suspiciously...

"And you know what Merlin told me? That they saw a mouse…and fainted."

Amelia forced a laugh through her relief. "How ridiculous, six grown men fainting because of a mouse."

"That's exactly what I thought. Really he is a terrible liar!" Arthur scoffed and then turned up a small flight of stairs.

"We're here," he said, leading them through what looked like a laboratory with little potions bubbling away. The man working there paid them no mind apart from a "good morning Arthur". It seemed as if this was normal for them both.

He led her through to a little room where Merlin lay spread out on his tiny bed. She thought about how adorable he looked, eyelashes making dark circles on his cheekbones, chest rising and falling with each breath he took. She wanted to reach out, to brush her fingers across his face, brush away the dark feathery strands of hair from his eyes. She could stand and watch him forever.

"Wake-y, wake-y Merlin" smirked Arthur as he reached for a bucket of water left beside the door.

"No! Arthur don't!"

Amelia didn't want him woken this way but it didn't stop Arthur, he still poured the water over Merlin; only now Amelia was in the way. Put off balance by the icy water Amelia stumbled backwards and fell on top of Merlin- both were soaked.

X

Merlin woke with a gasp as he felt the icy water soak his clothes. He had slept in _again_ hadn't he? It wasn't his fault, he'd been out all night looking for Marcus- after what Amelia and Lillian had said he was still worried for their safety.

Blinking he looked up at the feeling of something warm and heavy on his chest and was surprised to see that it was Amelia. She looked like a drowned rat…a very attractive drowned rat. She was blinking water out of her eyes and shook her head, dark auburn hair sending droplets flying everywhere.

He looked up to see Arthur frozen in shock- obviously having not expected to douse Amelia in water as well. He never thought he would do it to a girl, she must have gotten in the way somehow…and fallen onto him.

Merlin blushed suddenly at his current predicament. He didn't know what it was about Amelia that made his heart race, but she did and he couldn't help himself- he had the strangest urge to protect her. An urge he had not had since…Merlin's breath caught in his throat, not since Freya had been alive.

There was something about her strength, her care for her family, her eyes that enchanted him- but he was no closer to finding out why she was in his room…in their current position.

"You absolute…dollop head!" Amelia exclaimed, glaring up at Arthur.

Merlin smirked as the blonde prince flinched under the assault. "What did you do that for? You know what don't even answer that. For a prince you aren't half an _idiot_."

She huffed, still not standing up- but he wasn't sure that she realised she was still half on his chest.

"Don't speak to me like that," Arthur said, sounding a lot like a five year old.

"Well you're acting like a child! Only a child would do that. You know what? This is your fault. _You _can go and get Merlin some clean dry clothes and if you don't mind would you fetch me a dress too."

Arthur was surprised at being managed so well by a woman, in his shock he just nodded and walked away. Doing as she had asked him. Once the door closed behind him Amelia sat up, her icy exterior melted and she took on the look of a frightened vulnerable girl.

"Amelia what's wrong?" Merlin asked, sitting up suddenly, hating the desperate look in her eyes, needing to make it all better somehow, and that was when he realized something was missing- even as she said it, he realized what was wrong, so terribly wrong.

"Oh Merlin" she whispered- if she were any other girl he would have thought that she might cry. Not Amelia.

"I need your help. It's Lil, he's taken Lillian."

* * *

So Amelia likes Merlin and Merlin likes Amelia. Amelia is quite apt at handling Arthur but has crumbled over the loss of her sister. Gwaine is stuck at home and Marcus is the scumbag we all knew he was. What could possibly happen next?

You'll just have to read on to find out won't you?


	7. Decisions, decisions

**AN: **Hi! So so sorry for the late update, I'd call exams but you've heard it all before so all I can do is apologise.

Ok, major points since it's been a while.

-Lil and Amelia came to Camelot to see their friend Marcus, who knows about their magic and who they haven't seen since they were children.

-On the way they meet Gwaine, who discovers their magic but doesn't tell them he knows. He also doesn't tell them he's banished from Camelot.

-Lil develops a crush on Gwaine and the feeling is mutual so he sticks around, also slightly suspicious of their powers and intentions.

-On their first day in the city they meet Merlin, who Mimi takes a liking too. Merl detects a bit of magic but dismisses it and takes them to Marcus in spite of his doubts

-Turns out Merlin was right,(surprise) and Marcus is a baddie, they fight, using magic and at the last second Lil convinces Mimi to spare Marcus.

-Turns out this was a bad choice, they get a letter from Marcus threatening to reveal their magic if they don't meet him, and when they do he puts a necklace on Lil which stops her magic and steals her free will.

-He kidnaps her and threatens to kill her if Amelia won't kill the king by next week.

-Distraught Amelia goes to the only person she knows in the city, Merlin (Gwaine is still outside in their hut he got from a friend in a tavern)

-On the way she bumps into Arthur whose going to tell his manservant off for being later. Shortly after the prince tips water over his friend, Amelia gets in the way, is furious and orders him to get them dry clothes.

-After he's gone, she tells Merlin Lil's been kidnapped.

Ok?

Good, Enjoy!

* * *

For a second Merlin is simply too shocked to say anything. However then he stiffens, his eyes getting hard and angry.

"_What?"_

It was bad enough Marcus had tried to hurt them, but this- this was going too far. Merlin tried very hard to convince himself his growing affection for Amelia had nothing to do with it.

"He took her. H-he says that I have to kill the king by the winter solstice or he'll…he'll kill her. I don't know what to do, he had this, this _necklace_ and once it was round her neck...it was like she didn't have her own mind any more, like she didn't have a choice."

Merlin's eyes narrowed. "You think it was magic?"

"I know it was."

His eyebrows leapt at the firm tone in her voice. "Really? How?"

Blushing suddenly as she realized how dangerous the waters into which she'd just swum were, Amelia backtracked quickly, coughing a little. "Ah, well, I've had experience of it in the past."

"Someone close to you was a victim of magic?" His voice sounded oddly conflicted, sad, but not just for pity of her.

Thinking about Lil and her true natures, Amelia shrugged. "You could say that." Her eyes flashed, warning him not to pursue it, and imagining it to be a painful area for her, Merlin nodded.

"Well, we're going to have to make it at least appear like you're going to do what he wants, if only to keep Lilian safe."

"How though? Uther has done terrible things, but I won't kill him."

Melrin gave her a bright, oddly confident grin. "Don't worry, you won't."

The small amount of worry she'd allowed into her features eased a little, though it was still there and he wished he could get rid of it completely. Ignoring the urge to stroke away the frown lines on her forehead Merlin sat up a little, wondering why he was so attracted to her. It wasn't like he didn't spend every day in the company of beautiful remarkable women. Yet Amelia seemed…different somehow.

Even as he was thinking this, Amelia fell back from her perch on his body with a little sound of surprise. Unthinking Merlin reached out to catch her and she grabbed his shoulders in an instinctive attempt to keep from falling. Which left them in an awkward sort of embrace, faces inches from one another. On Merlin's bed.

Ears going bright red at the tips Merlin coughed and gently sort of placed Amelia on one side of his bed whilst he got out of the other. Amelia bit her lip as she watched him, not for the first time was tempted to hug him and ruffle his unruly black hair. Then his eyes met hers and the strength and confidence there made something deeper shift inside her as she realized this boy was _powerful_- somehow, in some way he was so strong, strong enough to look like that, and she suddenly realized with a jolt that she was as attracted to this side of him as she was to the other.

"Amelia, I swear, I will do everything I can to get Lilian back. We'll save her." The words were said with such conviction that for the first time in a long time Amelia found herself replying without actually thinking about it.

"I know, I trust you."

His head jerked up at that and she blushed, quickly getting to her feet. Both of them were aware of how rarely those words passed her lips, and both wondered at the reason. Getting more and more anxious under Merlin's piercing gaze Amelia shuffled backwards, reaching for the door.

"Well, I'll leave you to get dressed. I appreciate you're offer to help- well, um, what I mean is, thankyou Merlin."

Blushing hotly Amelia backed out of the room, shutting the door with a quick smack, her dress still hanging heavy and dripping from her body; the wet material clinging to her skin. Just as she shut the door to Merlin's room Arthur stepped in on the other side of Gaius' chambers, holding a dress in one hand and a shirt and trousers in the other. Gaius raised his eyebrows at Amelia, watching her closely as Arthur strode past her, handing Merlin his clothes before cautiously giving Amelia her dress.

"Here."

Amelia, now entirely herself again, folded her arms. "And?"

The prince frowned and Gaius's other eyebrow clambered up his wrinkled skin.

"I'll give you a clue, starts with 's' and ends with 'y' and you say it when, for example, you tip a bucket of ice cold water over an unsuspecting woman for no _apparent_ reason."

Arthur spluttered, raised his hands, went several shades of red, and gave up with a huff. "Fine, I'm sorry."

Nodding with a smile, Amelia took the dress. "Very good, you're learning. Thankyou for the dress." She deliberately forgot to say sire and before he could respond or correct her Merlin came out of his room, shrugging on a clean jacket and tying a scarf around his neck. He gave Amelia a slightly shy smile and jerked his head to the door behind him.

"Though you might want a little privacy."

Smiling gratefully with a very light blush for no apparent reason, Amelia went into the room, quickly shutting the door behind her. Breathing out with a sigh at getting away from all those staring eyes, she felt a quick knot of worry for Lil tighten in her stomach and began to peel off her soaked dress, quickly pulling on the other with a shiver.

No matter what, she was getting Lil back. Merlin was with her, maybe even Arthur. They'd stop Marcus. Save her sister. Everything would be all right.

As she searched for somewhere to put her wet dress Amelia felt a brief flash of sympathy for Gwaine, accompanied by no small sense of guilt. He had no idea where she and Lil were, or what was going on. The redhead nervously bit her lip, hoping he wouldn't come into the city. Lil would kill her if he got himself into trouble, and though she'd not tell him, she wanted him to be safe too; if only for her sister.

_He'll be furious when he finds out he wasn't told though…_ Shaking off the thought Amelia straightened, moving an old leather book from a chair and hanging her dress over the back. Lil came first. Always.

Going back outside, she didn't even glance at the old leather book she'd casually moved to Merlin's bed until the last second, pausing in the doorframe as the strangest feeling hit her, like something was right behind her.

Having learnt by now to always trust her instincts, Lil spun around, one hand up and ready to fight. Yet there was nothing. Just that book, sitting on the bed. Shrugging it off, she went outside, thinking no more of it.

Behind her, Merlin's spell book fell open of its own accord.

"She's insane! I swear, she doesn't even know who I am!"

"Of course she does Arthur, she's just worried about her sister. Plus, you _did_ tip a bucket of water over her."

"Actually, I think Arthur's right Merlin, maybe we should find out a little more about this girl before we trust her so completely."

"We can trust her, alright Gaius? If you can't bring yourself to trust Amelia, trust me. She's on our side."

Raising an eyebrow, Amelia stepped off the last step from those leading from Merlin's room and stepped into the middle of the boys. "There are sides now?"

Merlin sighed and Arthur narrowed his eyes. "Of course, those who are for and those who are against my father, the _king – _who apparently you have to kill."

"I'm not going to." She frowned but said the words without protest, simply as a statement of fact. Arthur frowned a little and Merlin tried not to smile, Gaius just watched her carefully.

Finally, the crown prince spoke. "Give me your reasons why, after all, your sister is in danger."

Annoyed, Amelia rolled her eyes. "Fine, ok then. 1) I can be scary, but I'm no murderess. 2) Lil would be really upset if I ever killed someone, and if anything does happen to her _which it won't_ I wouldn't despoil her memory like that. 3) He's cruel but we need a King and at least Uther's strong, plus you're too young to take the throne yet," Arthur spluttered but Mimi held up a finger to silence him.

"4) I trust that Merlin will help me get her back, 5) Since Marcus betrayed us and we severed all ties in our village, we need to stay here. It's not safe for Lil to stay in a warzone and I won't put her in danger like that. 6) If I'm absolutely honest, if nothing else I'd just do it to spite Marcus because he actually thought he could make me do anything by threatening my sister."

The anger underneath the girl's tone was clear but otherwise her voice and words were icy calm. Arthur blinked.

"Well, that's…logical." Merlin snorted and the prince sent him a glare whilst Amelia wondered at their unusual relationship for a servant and master. Then again, she couldn't exactly see Merlin as a normal servant.

Arthur turned to Gaius. "Well, what do you think Gaius? I know my father trusts your judgement, so I will too."

For a long moment Gaius looked at Amelia, and she shifted a little, feeling exposed as he measured everything he said. Just before he replied he glanced at Merlin, who was smiling, for no apparent reason, and then spoke.

"She seems intelligent and trustworthy. She's right, it would only cause her harm should she go through with what Marcus has demanded, and I think Merlin's right too; most of her motives concern protecting her sister, that seems to be proof of a compassionate nature, not treachery."

The blonde nodded. "Right then, Amelia, I expect you to be in the kitchens at first light tomorrow morning. I'll tell Joan, the head chef, that she has someone to replace Lizzy." With that, he simply turned and left.

For a moment, Amelia just stared at the door Arthur had just shut behind him, and then she turned to Merlin. He grinned, guessing the question on her lips.

"Yep, he's always like that."

X

Pacing across the cottage yet again, Gwaine's hand fell to his sword and he glanced out of the window. Again. Not only did someone from Camelot know where he was staying, _the girls weren't back yet_, which was his far greater concern.

Growling in frustration, Gwaine pulled out his sword, striking the air as he railed against the tremble of worry in his gut.

Again he glanced out of the window, and then, with an impetuous, "_DAMN it!_" He went into his room, yanking a travelling cloak from his pack and shrugging it over his shoulders, slinging his sword into the sheath on his belt.

Without looking back, he marched out of the hut, flicking his hood up. Either the girl's were taking their sweet time or something had happened to them, and if the latter happened, he was going to be damned if he wasn't going to do something about it.

* * *

OOh, so what's going to happen to Gwaine? Will he be discovered? Is Lil ok? Will Amelia like castle life? Will Mimi and Merl discover each other's secrets? Will Gaius learn to really trust Amelia? Are Mimi and Merl going to act on this romance? How will they save Lil?

Find out next time! All comments greatly appreciated: conc-crit; questions;guesses; ideas; suggestions or just squees over how adorable Merlin and his ears are are all welcome so please take the time to press that button and type something to us, we love it!

Hope you enjoyed it and thanks for reading, over to MNM!

Kat


	8. Explanations

**A/N: **Hello again, just me. Sorry that this chapter took so long but disaster struck and my laptop fell of my bed and smashed so I had to find 100 pounds from somewhere in order to fix it before I even thought about starting the chapter! it was horrible but rejoice with me now for it is fixed! and i am once more in possession of a full screen! Hallelujah!

**WARNING, A SPOILER FOR WHOLE OF SO3.**

Anyway...what did you think of the last episode! and the sword in the stone bit at the end! Epic, seriously i was like oooooh. and and and DREC APPEARED ONCE MORE! for those of you who don't know that's Dragon Riding Emrys club which you are all welcome to join simply contact myself or Kat and we shall add you to the list. I'm considering a badge of some sort or a crest. yeah but its always nice when our name sake appears on telly.

anyhoo thanks for the reviews and a quick recap

- Lil has been captured by Marcus who wants Amelia to kill the king in order to get her back, merlin has agreed to help

- our favourite warlock and resident ice princess may be developing a tendre for each other

- After the bucket of water incident mimi doesn't particularly like Arthur. Arthur doesn't particularly like mimi but is willing to help and gets her a job in the kitchens

- Gwaine has gotten worried and set off for Camelot despite the danger it will cause him

* * *

Chapter 8 - Explanations

Gwaine had walked through the night to reach Camelot and as he had gotten closer and closer to the city he had gotten more and more tense.

Part of him was hoping with each tree that he passed that the girls would come out laughing and giggling; perfectly safe and happy- that they would see him and go 'Gwaine! what on earth are you doing out of the cottage?' Then Amelia would scold him icily in the way she did and Lil would come and hug him and they would walk home hand in hand with Amelia trailing them trying to hide her affectionate smile every time they glanced back. And failing.

But that didn't happen, and soon enough he was coming out of the cover the forest had provided. Hood still up Gwaine hurried through the streets of the lower town, passing people left and right. Nobody stopped him as he passed by. Parents watching children, girls shopping for silks and laughing as they dressed up, men bartering about the price of horses and grain- none were concerned with the banished would-be knight in their midst. Apparently hooded strangers were not uncommon in Camelot.

Gwaine went first to the stables to see if the girls were still there. There was little doubt in his mind that something had happened now, he was sure that they wouldn't leave him this long deliberately.

Then he saw his way forward, if there was anyone who could help him, anyone who would know what was going on in Camelot…it would be Merlin. And as if God had sent him from above Gwaine turned and there walking across the square towards him was Merlin, normal goofily cheerful features arranged in a frown.

Something was wrong, and Gwaine figured if Merlin could help him then maybe he could help Merlin in return.

"Merlin!" he called out, gaining the attention of the dark haired boy who's head snapped up and looked at him, eyes widening in recognition, alarm and surprise. He hurried over and grabbed Gwaine's arm pulling him to the side. Strong for such a slight boy.

"What are you doing here Gwaine?" he hissed, glancing around nervously "do you have a death wish?"

"Well, it's nice to see you too. Merlin there's no time for niceties, I need your help. I'm looking for these girls, twins, they've been staying with me and they came in to Camelot to meet an old friend and they haven't come back and I'm worried about them. Have you seen them?"

"Wait, you don't mean Amelia and Lillian?" Merlin asked- eyes wide again with shock, it was obvious that he knew both girls.

"Yes!" Gwaine cried, thankful that Merlin knew them and could help him "where are they?"

"Well er, Amelia, she's erm, she's in the kitchens working and is staying in my room in Gaius' chambers, in my bed…not- not with me!" he blushed, stumbling over his words as Gwaine raised his eyebrows suggestively, making Gwaine wonder whether the young man in front of him harboured a secret affection for the ice princess Lil had for a twin. "N-no of course not _with_ me, I'm on the spare bed!" his ears had gone red and Gwaine grinned at him knowingly, making Merlin blush more.

"And Lillian?" he asked, deciding to spare the poor boy any further embarrassment. He became worried immediately when Merlin's expression sobered.

"Why don't you come back to Gaius' chambers? We can talk there. You tell me how you met the girls and I'll tell you what happened in Camelot."

He turned and began to head back towards the castle. Gwaine followed without complaint, a growing dread was gripping him. Something had happened to Lil.

X

Merlin had spent the morning going around Camelot looking in every nook and cranny he knew, seeing if there was anywhere that Marcus could have hidden himself and Lil. He had a feeling that they were still within the city, after all where better to hide than a crowd? But his morning's search had brought no answers, no one had seen them or anything suspicious. It seemed hopeless but that didn't mean he would give up. He would find Lil and wipe that look of pain and vulnerability off Amelia's face. He never wanted to see her looking like that again, ever. It hurt him too much.

Amelia, such a puzzle of a girl. He never got the simple ones did he? Freya had been a cursed magical beast and Amelia was, well, Amelia. Icy exterior, excellent handler of prat like princes, beautiful, every bit the strong independent fighter of a woman; holding it together for the sake of her sister. Until Lil went missing and behind the ice you discover a girl like the rest, vulnerable and afraid, wanting someone to hold her and comfort her and tell her it was all going to be alright. He could be that someone… Merlin shook his head and scoffed at himself. Yeah sure, she probably had someone at home waiting for her, why wouldn't she? No doubt someone had gotten there before him and again he wouldn't get the girl. Merlin sighed, eyebrows drawing into a frown.

"Merlin!" his head shot up at the familiar voice, all thoughts of pretty girls with icy eyes temporarily thrown from his mind. Yes, he was right, there in a travelling cloak stood a very worried looking Gwaine. Merlin hurried forward and grabbed Gwaine- pulling him into a darkened corner.

"What are you doing here Gwaine? Do you have a death wish?" he couldn't believe the idiocy of it all, had he come to die?

"Well, it's nice to see you too. Merlin there's no time for niceties, I need your help. I'm looking for these girls, twins, they've been staying with me and they came in to Camelot to meet an old friend and they haven't come back and I'm worried about them. Have you seen them?" He said this all so quickly that it took Merlin a moment to realise what he had said, and then it all clicked into place.

"Wait, you don't mean Amelia and Lillian?"

"Yes!" Gwaine cried thankfully "where are they?" He asked, looking expectant.

"Well er, Amelia, she's erm, she's in the kitchens working and is staying in my room in Gaius' chambers, in my bed…not- not with me!" Merlin cried at the look on Gwaine's face as he realised what he had said and the thought of Amelia in his bed with him brought back memories from this morning, when they had been in that very situation. God he was making hard work of this. "N-no of course not _with_ me, I'm on the spare bed," he was sure that his ears were somewhere close to maroon now.

"And Lillian?" Gwaine asked, still smiling, expecting a perfectly normal answer.

"Why don't you come back to Gaius' chambers? We can talk there." Merlin said, sobering at what he would now have to tell his friend "You tell me how you met the girls and I'll tell you what happened in Camelot."

He turned and began to head back towards the castle not looking to see if Gwaine was following, knowing that he would.

Once they got inside Merlin sat and listened to how Gwaine had met the girls while they were being attacked by bandits- but at the way Gwaine hesitated over some parts he was sure that the other man was leaving something out. Another thing that he did not hide well was his attraction to Lil, it was obvious to Merlin that Gwaine liked this girl, no matter how much he tried to avoid the subject.

Now came the not so fun part, Merlin went onto explain what happened when they returned to Camelot, how Amelia had come to him just yesterday afternoon telling him what had happened, and how he and Arthur had agreed to help Amelia find her sister, without killing the king.

Gwaine had grown steadily angrier and angrier as the tale went on, his fury directed at Marcus and a little at Amelia, for leaving him out when she knew that he would want to help. Would need to help. He was silent for a few minutes and then he opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by the door opening and a girl slipping inside, gaining the attention of the two men.

"Merlin," Amelia called, still with her back to them as she shut the door "did you find anythi- Gwaine!"

X

Amelia had been up at the crack of dawn this morning, making sure that Merlin got up also. Bless him having given up his bed for her, she had felt bad for it but he had refused to let her sleep on the floor, gentleman that he was. She had let him guide her to the kitchens, leaving her with a goofy smile and a little wave, a smile you couldn't help but return.

She had spent the day getting to know the other kitchen maids, she learned that her predecessor Lizzy had gotten married and moved away to have a gaggle of small children. She made two new friends; Mary and Ella, who helped her out with the things she didn't know how to do. She was a fairly good cook, certainly good enough for ordinary folk- but she'd never had to cook for a king before. If Marcus found out that she was working in the kitchens he would probably think that she was going to do what he said and poison the king to kill him.

He probably thought he had won… He was wrong of course. Just thinking of the scum bag made her blood boil which in turn turned to worry over what he was doing to her sister.

"Amelia? Amelia!" she shook herself out of her thoughts to be met by the concerned faces of Mary and Ella.

"Are you alright dear?" Ella asked.

"You're going to rip that cloth in half if your not careful" said Mary reaching forward to take it from her.

"I'm-I'm sorry" she said, looking down at her hands as Mary took the cloth from her, looking at them as if they weren't her own. "I'm just a bit distracted is all," she shrugged and tried for a smile.

"Why don't you go home? Everything's finished here and we don't mind doing a bit of extra cleaning up," said Ella, again, smiling gently at her.

"I couldn't possibly, what about Joan? It's my first day, I'll get fired."

"Don't worry about that old dragon" Mary smiled slyly "I can handle her, you wont be getting fired on my watch. Now off with you, if you're not out of this kitchen in the next minute I will drag you!"

"Thank you" grinned Amelia and turned and nearly ran all the way back to Gaius' chambers.

"Merlin!" she called as she entered the rooms "did you find anythi- Gwaine!" She turned around to find not only Merlin as she had expected, but a very angry looking Gwaine as well.

"Amelia" he nodded, with barely concealed anger "are you alright? At least I find one twin in good health. Although it would have been nice if I had been informed of what was going on rather than waiting at home for girls who never showed up."

"Gwaine I'm sorry but you are not my father, nor my brother and I did not have an immediate need to inform you of what had happened" she turned on icy, "besides, there was no time. I had to start looking for Lil, I was going to come a find you tonight though."

"Yes, a day later. A day when I could have been being useful and helping find her!" he shouted, temper getting the better of him in his panic.

"You should not have come here. It's dangerous." she said simply, knowing that this was annoying him but having no other way to react. She was secretly pleased to see Gwaine- it was a comfort knowing that he cared enough about her sister to risk himself.

"I know that you came to see if Lil was alright -" she began

"And you" he cut in, slightly angry but mostly just chipping in. However, the two little words threw her off.

"Me?" she questioned, amazed. No one ever cared what happened to her, she was the icy one left to fend for herself, Lillian was the cute one that everyone adored. Why would he care what happened to her when it was Lil who he loved?

"Yes" he frowned "you. Why does that come as such a shock?"

"I-I, well no one ever has before. Cared I mean. I'm the oldest. I don't need to be cared about. Not when Lil is so adorable and loveable, nobody likes icy," she said, incredulous at the words pouring out of her mouth and her inability to stop them or the sad little voice in which they were said.

"Everybody needs to be cared about," Merlin said, speaking for the first time since she had arrived. Amelia met his eyes and there was such care and concern there that she wanted to cry- for the first time since she had been very young she felt her eyes filling with tears.

Scared by this show of weakness Amelia spun around, tilting her head back; trying to stop the salty water from spilling over, taking a few deep breaths. The boys, realising that she did not want them to see her like this, turned their heads and suddenly became very interested in Gaius' books.

"Thank you" she said quietly letting them know that they could turn back now "for caring."

She didn't know what was happening, or how these two had managed to get past every wall she had ever put up by simply caring whether or not she lived or died. Stupid soft heartedness.

"What are we going to do then? In order to get Lil back?" Gwaine asked, changing the subject and glad to see Amelia's eyes return to their normal icy look and a wicked smile stretch her lips.

"We're going to pretend to kill the king."

X

Marcus had spent his whole life as second best, always. Even when his parents had been alive they hadn't really cared for him. They were too afraid, too scared to really even notice that he was there.

The truth was that Marcus' parents were magic, they possessed the gift and were terrified every day that Uther would find out and that he would come and kill them both. So they hid themselves away; growing more and more paranoid until one day they just couldn't take it anymore, and they killed themselves- in front of him.

Somehow Marcus had not inherited his parent's secret skill and he grew angry wondering what was wrong with him that had made him different, unaccepted- that made them keep him away. Made them leave him.

The twins had been his only friends, strangely attracted to the lonely boy that they had been the only people willing to talk to after his parents died. He'd become an orphan and gained a horrid master. The baker was rarely kind to him, he thought, as did the rest of the town, that Marcus was strange, unnatural, paranoid like his parents and likely to end the same way- that he was not worth the time of day.

Then Marcus found out that the twins also possessed magic and it made him angrier than he ever had been before. All this time they'd pretended to like him, to _be_ like him- be his friends, only for them to exclude him, just like his parents, laughing as they played with the gifts that his lack of had destroyed his life, and all he could do was watch.

As time went on and he grew, he became bitter and twisted. His anger and his guilt finally drove him away from the girls to Camelot to try and start anew but he couldn't get them out of his head. Instead, all he saw was more and more people killed for magic- more and more dying because of it, and Uther. So he decided to teach them both a lesson- the twins and the king, to show them what it felt like to be helpless in the big wide world.

It hadn't exactly gone according to plan.

X

Lil woke up when her head was snapped harshly to the side by a fist, her cheek started to throb and she opened her eyes, blinking through the tears to find Marcus standing above her, his hand still raised.

"Morning sunshine" he said harshly and she longed to get up and punch him, to utter the words that would send him flying into the wall of wherever she was being held. The satisfaction that she would take from hearing him crunch against the wall would far outweigh any guilt she might feel- she was just as capable as Lil of violence, in spite of their differences, they were still twins.

"Now, now" he tutted, reading the anger in her eyes, the only part of her that he didn't control. "There's no need for that princess."

But there was something in his eyes that looked disgusted with himself for a moment, and it seemed that it was the side that won as he shook his head, muttering to himself as he turned and got a cold wet cloth.

"Here" he muttered gruffly handing it to her, "for your cheek."

Grateful for the cold against the hot skin she held it there, slightly less angry with him than she had been before. She'd never been one to hold grudges.

"Right, I'm going out. I'll be back soon so don't even think about leaving. Besides, _I order you not to leave the cottage._" He smirked, "magic has it's uses."

With that he left, locking the door soundly behind him. Lil sensed an opportunity. Not to escape- after all he had forbidden her to do that, which meant for whatever reason she physically couldn't leave the cottage. But it didn't mean she couldn't walk around inside, and stretch her legs at least- maybe even figure out where she was.

She went to the window and pulled back the curtains; looking up she saw the castle looming over them and was slightly relieved that she was still in Camelot, having suspected worse. She gazed out at the street, it looked like she was somewhere in the lower town.

A cloaked figure made it's way up the street, catching her attention and for a brief second the hood revealed it's owner. It was Gwaine. Lil felt her heart stop at the thought of rescue and she called out to him; waving to try and get his attention.

"Gwaine! GWAINE!"

But he couldn't hear her, and she couldn't go to him. Becoming desperate at the thought of rescue being so close and then slipping from her grasp she tried to leave- running to the door. She screamed at the pain around her neck as the necklace grew burning hot around her neck and slowly choking, she stumbled back- clawing at it until it let go. Using the cloth from earlier to heal her burns she wept, in both pain and despair, as Gwaine walked further and further away; towards the castle.

All seemed lost.

* * *

So Lil is much closer than everyone seems to think she is and there is a little bit of lurve going around but who exactly loves who? Mimi and Merlin for sure as well as Gwaine and Lil...but does Marcus feel guilt because he also loves Lil? Didn't mimi admit to once having loved Marcus? It's like one elaborate confusing love...shape...i don't even know what shape it could be, but whatever it is...Marcus is casting a dark shadow on the young couples...what will become of it?

Thanks for reading and REVIEW!


	9. Dreams and teasing

**AN: **hey! Sorry to our reviewers for not updating for so long- that is entirely my fault I had a level exams, moved house, flew to hong kong, flew back. I know they're flimsy excuses but I owe you something.

Anyway:

-Gwaine+Lil= Luuuurve

-Marcus= baaaaaad

-Merlin+Amelia= flirty-blushing-falling in lurve

- Uther= at potential risk since Amelia has to kill him to get her sister back, though she has a plan. Which involves killing him….

-Arthur= Bewildered by this girl who takes ordering him in her stride.

-Gwen= about to make a long delayed appearance

Ok? Good, enjoy!

* * *

Amelia was walking hurriedly down a corridor, arms full of baskets of fruit and vegetables for the kitchens, taking her mind off it by imagining the masquerade of Uther's demise and thoroughly enjoying it, when everything went flying. This was a new experience, as pre-Merlin she was never unaware of any element of her surroundings. Ever. Lil said it was a creepy form of paranoia. Amelia called it cautious. But this ability had wandered absently away ever since she'd met the blue-eyed physician's apprentice and her life had turned upside down, leaving her throwing her arms over her head and launching herself into the person she'd walked into, shouting.

"Duck for cover!"

The fruit and vegetables landed on the stone with a squelchy thud and Amelia groaned, thinking of the walk all the way back to the market to get fresh supplies, out of her own pocket this time. Then she realized it would give her more time to plot and perked up a little. Meanwhile, the girl she'd bumped into was rambling a long winded and somewhat confusing apology as she tried to rescue what was left of the fresh produce.

"- and I didn't even see you coming, not that you're unnoticeable, just I was thinking about- well it doesn't matter, well it does but it doesn't and anyway it isn't relevant but I don't normally do this kind of thing and what I'm trying to say is-"

The girl paused when Amelia rested a reassuring hand on her shoulder, half in a desperate but amused bid to shut her up and half to relax this girl whose innocent distress reminded her of her sister. "It's alright. Seriously, no one was hurt, and the kitchens can survive for another half hour without an excess of vegetables, it's not like they don't really have enough already."

The girl smiled and Amelia smiled back. That was another thing that was happening as she spent more time around Merlin, she was becoming stupidly soft. Or maybe this girl just had a very kind smile- she had tightly curled black hair, tan skin and warm brown eyes. Amelia stuck out a hand, deciding she trusted her. Her 'creepy paranoid' side resented this easy offer of friendship, but Amelia's gut seemed happy with it, and she was glad when the girl took her hand.

"I'm Amelia, you?"

"Guinevere, but most people call me Gwen." Now she was a little less flustered Gwen had regained some of her dignity, looking ruefully at the vegetables and fruit squashed on the floor before brushing down her skirts.

Amelia's eyes lit up. "Oh, Merlin mentioned you- he met you when he came here right?"

Gwen's eyebrows leapt. "He did? Yes, he stood up to Arthur on his first day and ended up in the stocks. We've been friends ever since." There was warmth in her voice as she reflected on her friendship with her manservant, but nowhere near the intensity it reached when she said the Prince's name.

Tilting her head to the side and restraining a grin, Amelia questioned, nonchalantly, "Arthur? Not 'Prince Arthur', or 'his highness'?"

The other girl flushed and started stammering a reply. "I-I didn't mean any disrespect, of course I meant to say Prince, I suppose I just wasn't thinking straight-"

"Gwen-"

"I mean I was but I wasn't but I was distracted and I have been all day because Merlin said he's helping someone who's sisters been kidnapped and it's so terrible and I just know he's going to get himself into trouble-"

"Guinevere-"

"and then Arthur- I-I mean _Prince _Arthur is going to get annoyed with him for no reason which will make him annoyed and they'll be back at each other's throats again like an old married couple-"

At this, and the weary, worried tone in which Gwen said it, Amelia snorted indignantly and burst into laughter, finally stopping the ramble Gwen had plunged into.

"S-sorry, it's just- oh, I don't laugh that often, it's just- you're right! Ha! Oh dear, I just- oh dear."

Gwen looked utterly bemused and Amelia just shook her head, wiping her eyes and unable to take the grin off her face.

"So- you're in love with Arthur then?"

The deep shade of red that coloured Gwen's sweet face- dark than any previous, was answer enough. She opened her mouth- no sound came out. She shut it and tried again, eyes wide, and Amelia smiled gently.

"Hey- it's ok, I'm the girl Merlin's helping, and don't worry, you can trust me to keep a secret. Though what you see in that royal prat I'll never know." The end was said teasingly and Amelia was starting to wonder if maybe there was something in her food or water that had given her such a…_nice_ disposition today.

"Thanks." Gwen's breath rushed out of her in a rush, and then she tilted her head to the side, studying Amelia- which instantly made the auburn haired girl tense. Ok, this was a good mood. But she was still herself.

"What?" She asked, a little more frostily than she probably should have.

"Sorry- it's just, it's-ah-interesting, to meet you in person." Gwen smiled a little as she said it and Amelia's eyes narrowed, though she got the feeling this Guinevere wasn't as intimidated as she should have been.

"Why? What are you talking about?"

"Oh…nothing." That little smile widened and Amelia growled in frustration.

"If this has anything to do with Merlin the whole castle is going to find out about your preference for prats in about three-"

"Merlin? Who _ever_ said anything about Merlin? Why, was he on your mind?" Gwen giggled and if it had been anyone else, _anyone_ else, Amelia would have rendered them unconscious in the blink of an eye- physically or otherwise. But this girl reminded her painfully of Lil- they had their differences, certainly, but there was a sweet, slightly cheeky side to her that filled Amelia with nostalgia. Besides, she was in a ridiculously good mood, even as her cheeks flushed hotly.

"I-I-of course he wasn't!"

Now Gwen was nodding, her eyebrows raised, the smile still on her face, in a way that seemed to say she didn't believe a word Amelia was saying. "Right, of course- someone _else_ put those words into your mouth. Ok."

Amelia's eyes widened. "Yes, actually! You did! You- you prat-lover."

Gwen rolled her eyes. "You know Merlin says that all the time?" Amelia allowed a little grin to jump onto her face and Gwen laughed. "See, you do like him!"

"Shut up! How about _Arthur_, what kind of King do you think he'll make?"

Suddenly becoming serious, the dark girl bit her lip, thinking deeply. "A great one, he'll make a great king."

Pretending to gag Amelia rolled her eyes. "Riiiight- even if I was possibly the tiniest ounce remotely interested in Merlin, it's nothing compared to how loved up you are with your prince."

"I-I-" Gwen was blushing again and Amelia was grinning triumphantly.

"I- he's not _my_ prince."

The former ice queen nodded sagely as she turned with her half full basket of bruised produce, throwing her words over her shoulder almost nonchalantly, "sure he isn't Gwen. Sure he isn't."

X

He saw Lil. He knew he was asleep- he remembered collapsing onto his bed with a severe headache that was the vicious reprimand of a night drowning his sorrows before spending all day searching for her. There was no pain here. He knew he was asleep.

But she looked so real. Her fierce green eyes bright in the dark- auburn hair still resolutely curled, though by all rights it ought to be sagging- limp and sad. The rest of her looked pale and tired- still stubbornly holding on, but not half as bright or cheerful as normal. A bruise was forming on her face, there was a ring of burns round her neck, and in the shadows that presented her to him, Gwaine clenched his fist.

He knew it was a dream. But he couldn't stand seeing her, crouched, bound, sad, hurt, alone… Not really sure if it would make much difference, if he would even remember her in the morning, Gwaine called her name- hesitant. "Lil?"

Suddenly, her head snapped towards him, brilliant green eyes registering his appearance and then widening in recognition.

"Gwaine?" Her voice was rasping and soft and by all rights far too realistic to be a construction of his mind. It was also torn between relief, surprise and frank worry. "What- what are you doing here? I saw you, but you didn't hear me-no, you can't be real." She smiled wearily at herself, a shadow of her normal toothy grins.

"I miss you. A lot actually- almost as much as I miss Mimi. In fact, as much, just, you know, in a different way." Gwaine was silent, not entirely sure why his dream Lil thought he was a dream, but curious at to what she was going to say next.

She sighed, leaning back against the shoddy, dirty wooden wall she was crouched against.

"It's…strange. Like I've got an ache in my chest-" She gestured to her heart, "a double ache that's one part child and one part…well, woman I guess. I feel like I'm burning and freezing away and I can't get your face out of my mind." She laughed softly, gesturing to him. "Or my dreams, apparently."

"Lil-" Gwaine's voice broke a little, and even if she was just an illusion, he was going to say it anyway. " I miss you too- I'm searching for you, as much as I can, and Amelia and Merlin have a plan that they're hoping can satisfy- wait, what's wrong?"

Lil had stood and was breathing fast, looking around with wild eyes, curls flying, she stepped closer, reaching out a hand. Where her hand touched his arm it tingled and he raised his eyebrows, looking down at her.

"Gwaine? Is it you?"

"Well, yes, I mean- it's my dream."

Lil was shaking her head, and her eyes were suddenly full of thought, as if she was figuring something out. She tapped her lip with her finger, an endearing habit Gwaine had never seen in her before. "No, it's my dream."

He chuckled sadly, however much he wanted this to be real, he needed to be wary of getting too involved in this. It would hurt when he woke up. "No- trust me, hangovers like the one I had when I fell asleep don't just disappear."

Suddenly she flared up, eyes burning, freckled face furious. "You got _drunk? _And there was me thinking you were searching for me, there I was, missing you and- and your _alcohol_ was all you cared about!"

"No- no that's not true, I drank because…because I was worried and I felt hollow and I needed to get away from it- I only drank in the night, and searched in the day."

Lil rolled her eyes. "We need to find you a better habit. Preferably one that doesn't leave you drunk out of your wits."

Gwaine raised his hands in the air. "What do you expect me to do woman? Sew away my worries?"

"Who said anything about sewing? You know Gwaine, for a swashbuckling traveler your imagination is surprisingly limited…"

She looked up at him from beneath her lashes and Gwaine perked up a little, this was how his dreams of Lil were supposed to go, he leaned down, gently resting a hand on her waist and using another to cup her cheek.

Lil pulled back, smiling almost smugly, as if impressed by the effect she had on him, and put a finger on his lips. "Uh-uh, not now, I don't know how long we have left."

He groaned. "But it's _my_ dream." Gwaine was aware he sounded childish, but Gods he missed her.

She shook her head, a little of her fierce, exultant spirit making it's way onto her tired features. "No- it's _our_ dream."

Now she definitely wasn't supposed to say _that. _"I'm sorry?... I'm mad. I knew it, and this is my mind's way of telling me. Now I don't stand a chance of Lil-"

"Gwaine, you know you have a chance with me, and Marcus wants Mimi to kill Uther because his parents were killed for magic. It's why he's kidnapped me, some twisted kind of jealousy- he's been left behind so often because of his lack of gifts, it's caused him so much pain…the only thing he hates more is the King."

Ok, so Amelia had definitely not told him that when he was awake, none of them knew why Marcus hated the girls so much, or why he'd made his absurd and treasonous demand. And Gwaine doubted his sluggish mind could have come up with such a perfect explanation when it was currently dealing with as much mead as it was. Which meant-

"Wait, so you're real?"

She nodded, smiling wryly. "And so are you, apparently, we're sharing a dream."

"But- how?"

Suddenly her expression became guarded, and almost absently her hand went to touch the necklace round her neck, hesitating an inch away from the silvery metal. "I don't know". It was a lie. And Gwaine didn't know how to tell her he knew without scaring her away. He remained silent.

"Look, Gwaine- I'm somewhere in the lower town, you walked past the other day. Opposite there's a house with a window with a gap in the bottom right corner, it's exactly in line with this one."

"Lilian, I'm sorry, but I'm going to need a bit more detail than that." Lil bit her lip.

"I know, but…oh, I know, a little up the road there's a woman selling silks and the like- there's a mirror on the side of the stall closest to where I am."

Gwaine grinned, he knew that stall, had seen Gwen visit it before now. And he could probably narrow it down with Lil's obscure window thing. Suddenly dust fell from the ceiling of the hut they were in and Lil glanced up fearfully, cursing violently, which made Gwaine chuckle- though the smile fell from his face when her eyes met his.

She was terrified, and furious, and desperate. The floor started to fall in and Lil scowled, "he's found out- gods I hate being a sleeptalker,Gwaine, he's probably going to move me- please, come quick!" She fell into the ground and Gwaine ran forwards, staring into the dark hole in his-their- dream, shouting her name.

* * *

Ooooh, slightly dark ending- but hope you liked it? Will he get there in time? Or will Mimi and Merlin have to implement their plan? What exactly _is _their plan? How will Marcus react if he finds out Lil was trying to get help- and may have succeeded?

Please do comment and thankyou for reading, over to MaryandMerlin!

Kat


	10. Desperation, distractions and deaths

**A/N: **Hello again! It's me MaryandMerlin with yet another chapter following on from the on by the lovely Katherine Moonhawk. However it is late and I am tired so I'm not going to say much lol.

Thanks for your reviews to those who did :D

Disclaimer: I own the words, thats what matters (deep right?)

* * *

**Chapter 10 - Desperation, Distractions and Deaths**

Gwaine was running before she had even fully left him, out of Gaius' rooms, flying through and only just managing not to trash the place. Down the stairs and out the courtyard, feet pounding on the hard smooth stone. Past the guards- ignoring their warning shouts. Next he was thundering down the dirt roads of the lower town, past the multitude of stalls lining both sides of the road, looking for the signs she had told him about. Pushing people out of his way, not caring, mind set on one task and one task only. Finding Lil. His lungs burned and his legs ached but finally he spotted the house opposite her and raced over to it, throwing the door open so hard that it hit the wall with a crash and bounced back.

He stopped short in the door way at the sight that met him.

The boy, Marcus, had Lil by her hair; pulling it back as she winced in pain. Gwaine's hands balled up into fists and he growled deep in his throat. Marcus, seemingly unfazed by this, simply smiled- tugging her hair harder before producing a small bottle from his pocket.

"Gwaine, Gwaine I love you!" Lil shouted desperately as he rushed forward and Marcus threw the bottle on the floor which let out a large puff of coloured smoke, in which Lil and Marcus disappeared.

Milliseconds later Gwaine's arms closed around smoke as he crashed to his knees right in the spot Lil had just located, feeling empty. The smoke cleared and a small piece of parchment floated down through the air into his open palm.

'_Too Late Lover Boy'_ it read in a messy scrawl, the words mocking him.

It seemed that this was what Gwaine needed to conquer the emptiness, only for it to be replaced by anger. He crumpled the parchment into a ball and pushed himself up; the anger and desperation now fuelling his every move.

_She loves me_,he thought striding out the door and back out on to the street and heading down towards the lower parts of the town, _and I love her. That pathetic excuse for a human won't keep us apart._

He set out to look for his love.

X

Amelia sat back on the soft, plush, feather cushions of the sofa in Prince Arthur's room. She should have been in the kitchen but Ella and Mary had let her go early, they really were lovely girls- bless their little cotton socks. She blinked. She was really going soft.

Poor Merlin cleaned the room around her but she was having far too much fun with this to go and help him.

"You know," she said as he straightened the bed, "I could so get used to this," she laughed as he lobbed a pillow at her and then laughed harder as she threw it back at him just as he was turning and it hit him right in the face; which morphed into an adorable frown.

Amelia mentally scolded herself. _Adorable! You have never thought anything was adorable in your entire life. Pull yourself together girl! You're going soft on me! _She sighed, knowing she was losing her grip on the cold Amelia, the hurt defensive one. This boy with his adorable ears and uplifting smile was starting to thaw her heart, heal her wounds, and gently lower her defenses. Bit by bit.

It was scaring her.

"Amelia?"

She looked up to see that he was now sitting beside her "I've finished, if you want to start going over the plan now" he smiled down at her.

"Yeah of course" she smiled, the first real one in so long that it felt as if the muscles in her face had gone stiff from so little use.

"Well you know how first…" she took this rare opportunity to study him closer, he seemed to automatically glow she noted, watching how animatedly he talked about something that he cared about so deeply and then a horrible thought struck Amelia. What if he was doing it because he liked Lil? This seemed to strike Amelia at her core, for a reason she wanted to keep buried in case her horrible thought was actually true and another person was picking Lil over her.

"Amelia?" she blinked and his concerned face came into view, a frown once more twisting his handsome features, "are you alright?" Damn, her face must have betrayed her.

"I'm fine" she said quietly, smiling softly.

"Of course you're not" he said putting a comforting arm around her "but it's okay to cry Mimi, you know that don't you?" The pet name made her heart lurch, "it doesn't make you weak."

"Thanks Merlin" she said, surprised at the stinging behind her eyes as she lay her head on his shoulder. And at the fact she'd let him call her Mimi. Yes, she hated the nickname, but somehow, coming from him, it wasn't so bad…

"But I don't know how to cry anymore. I've forgotten. I trained myself to be strong for Lil and now I just can't remember," she sat back and looked up at him.

"That's why they always pick her over me you know" she said suddenly "they think I don't have a heart, that I don't know how to love. That they only needed to talk to the ice princess in order to gain access to the summer one. Lil is so much warmer than I am, but I did it for her."

Merlin leant his forehead against hers, looking into her eyes "You do" he whispered to her, "I know you do"

X

Arthur was a bundle of nerves that night as he sat beside his soon-to-be-dead father. Though he tried not to stare, he was using Gwen to keep his mind off of what was to come. She was standing over at one side, talking and laughing with Amelia as if they had been friends for life.

The icy girl had thawed considerably since she had started spending more time with Gwen and Merlin, they were a good influence on her it seemed.

Gwen was clothed in a new lilac gown that made her eyes even brighter and her dark curly hair was carefully threaded with little purple flowers that looked lovely with her dress. He watched as Amelia said something to her and Gwen blushed, glancing subtly back at him. He looked away quickly so as not to be caught staring.

He looked up to see Merlin fiddling with the pitcher of wine staring at Amelia; a little frown creased the pale skin of his forehead.

"You know, it's rude to stare Merlin," he jibed, grinning at the boy.

"Like you weren't staring at Gwen," Merlin replied without even flinching, of course he ruined this cool clean comeback with his next sentence, "it's not like I like her or anything." Arthur looked to see that –yes- the tips of Merlin's ears were burning red.

"Oh, okay good to know," he said nonchalantly, "I'll just let that stable boy knows she's available then."

"What!" Merlin had turned so swiftly back to the prince that he spilt a splash of wine on the floor, unable to hide the flash of jealousy that darted through his eyes. Easily read by Arthur.

"Yeah Merlin," he laughed "you don't like her at allll," he laughed at his manservant.

"You," said Merlin "are a Royal Prat." He paused "and if you don't go and ask Gwen to dance _that_ stable boy will."

Arthur looked up to see that there were indeed a group of young men milling around rather close to Amelia and Gwen; eyeing them up. Arthur felt disgusted with his kind when he saw their lewd smiles.

"Er, you know I think you might be right for once Merlin," he said "they do look awfully lonely over there."

"If that's what you need to tell yourself" said Merlin "then go for it." But Arthur saw the disgust in his eyes as he looked at the group of young men before they flicked back to Amelia and warmed considerably.

"It would be ungentle-manly of me to leave Amelia alone while you dance. Wouldn't it?" He asked, almost begging the prince for the chance to go and talk to the pretty girl.

"Of course," he smirked "and all my servants must be polite Merlin."

X

"Arthur's looking at you again," Amelia teased slyly. Gwen felt heat blossom in her cheeks as she glanced back and saw that he was looking up at Merlin.

"You know, last time I checked I wasn't Merlin. Which is who he's actually looking at." She said, "and even if he was it wouldn't mean anything anyway. He's a prince, I'm a servant." She paused, "_however,_ that doesn't mean that nothing can happen between you and Merlin."

"He will one day be King, he can make you his Queen, Gwen. Merlin will become a noble, one of his most trusted friends and advisors, Lil will marry Gwaine and I? I will become invisible again," she sighed "I'm too cold to be loved apparently."

"Gwen," said a nervous voice; distracting her from comforting Amelia- who's face split into a large grin anyway. Turning around she saw Arthur giving her a charming smile. "Would you like to dance?"

She nodded wordlessly, not trusting her voice and not questioning it when he threw a dark look at a group of boys standing close by. He led her out into the swirling couples.

"This is nice," he said after a while, "not being judged for dancing with you…" he sighed contentedly.

"Well you know we're just friends so I don't think anyone would judge us anyway not that I'm saying you're not attractive- you are, but don't let that go to your head and-"

"Gwen," he cut her off- smiling in spite a certain sadness in his eyes that had appeared when she had said that they were just friends. "Breathe," he reminded her gently and she did so, exaggerating the simple movement so that they both laughed.

Arthur led her into another turn and the topic was changed again.

X

Merlin sidled up to Amelia, she looked gorgeous tonight, dressed in material to match her icy eyes, really setting off her hair, which was piled on top of her head, with only a few curls left to frame her face, and seeming to glow. Not in a cold frost that's deadly, way but in a kind of warm, welcoming way.

"I'd ask you to dance," he said suddenly; making the girl jump and whirl to face him, "but I'm terrible at it so I'll save us both the embarrassment." This made her laugh and any tension that may have lingered was immediately disposed of.

"It's fine," she smiled, "I'd rather bet on how long it will take those two to realise that the other feels the same way they do." She nodded to Arthur and Gwen who were dancing. "I wish I could be so lucky…"

"You will be," he said confidently but Amelia shook her head.

"We've been over this Merlin. Nobody looks at me like that," she lost herself in his eyes for a moment, realising how much she wanted to be loved by this man. He was everything she wasn't, everything she wanted to be.

"I do," he said quietly, ears burning red.

Amelia's mouth dropped in shock but before she could even fully process what she had just heard she was interrupted by the sounds of warning bells ringing and people screaming.

Looking around to see what had caused all this uproar and ruining her perfect moment Amelia saw the king face down on the table.

The king was dead.

* * *

Ding Dong the King is dead, which old King? The Pendragon King. Ding Dong the Pendragon King is dead! And I see lurve blooming!

Want more! Over to you KM :D xx

REVIEW!


	11. Panic

**AN: **Hello! It's Kat here, taking over from the fantabulous MnM (yes, fantabulous is a neologism, got a problem with that? Oh good :D) I decided to finally put some effort in and get this out on time- it's not fair that my sis is doing all the work, SO, here we go!

Last chap: Merlin likes Amelia, she likes him back, ditto with Gwen and Arthur who got to go on a romantic little dance, before that, Gwaine saw the kidnapped Lil in a dream, and in case you've forgotten, the conditions for her release are that the king dies. Oh, did I forget? Yeah. Uther's dead. Well...sort of... Oooh, and the twins have magic, gwaine knows but hasn't said he knows, Merlin doesn't know, and the girls don't know about said warlock's magic either- guess they just haven't had the time...

Enjoy!

* * *

"So? What's your diagnosis?"

Amelia had never seen Arthur look so worried in the short time she'd known him, and a momentary stab of guilt hit her. She glanced at Merlin and could see he felt the same, fidgeting to try and avoid telling his friend.

Gaius sighed. "Well sire, it's certainly some kind of poison, and I'm afraid if it is what I think it is, it could be fatal." Though he seemed sincere, Amelia could swear there was a tone in Gaius' voice that threw it off, just a little. She'd been relieved when the physician had agreed to help them though- Arthur was far more likely to listen to an expert.

Nodding, said Prince sat next to his father, holding his hand. Gaius picked up the King's wine goblet from where it had been brought in by the guards. "Merlin, Amelia, I'm going to need your help. This may take some time sire."

The man who stared up at his court physician was nothing compared to the one Amelia had seen dancing with Gwen- he looked desperate, and almost scared. "Just make him better Gaius. Please."

Amelia bit her lip, and once they were out of the King's chambers Merlin took her hand. She shot him a look, surprised but not unpleasantly so, and he gently squeezed her fingers. She squeezed back.

Once they were in Gaius' rooms he hurried over to his shelves, quickly grabbing a vial of some kind of pale blue sludge and shooing them when he saw them watching. "Go on- the antidote to this potion should come into full effect by dawn, so you'll need to be back by then, now go save Lilian!"

Merlin and Amelia, needing no further prompting, nodded and ran out into the night.

Amelia lead the way, taking them both back to the hut where Lil had been kidnapped and where she assumed Marcus would be waiting. The warning bells were still ringing, so if he was anywhere near Camelot he should have heard them- she hoped it was enough.

Suddenly nervous, she and Merlin hesitated outside of the wooden door, silver in the weak moonlight. Merlin gave her a questioning look, asking if this was the right place. Amelia nodded and his jaw tightened, then he looked at her, counting down from three.

They burst inside and found nothing. The house was empty- eerily so. There was no furniture, and, more importantly, no people, or signs of them. Frowning, Amelia looked around, calling out, "Lilian! Lil? Where are you? Lil? Marcus, I did it! I killed the-" Merlin's hand suddenly went over her mouth and she made a sound of indignation. He rolled his eyes.

"Mimi, the guards are going to be searching the whole lower town. Shouting that you-" he paused and lowered his voice even more, "that you _killed the king_ isn't exactly going to improve our situation. Look, it seems pretty obvious they've moved, we just need to go look for them."

Amelia's worry and frustration lent a bite to her tone as she whispered a reply, "but we don't even know where to _start_, it's not like this is a _small_ city!"

Merlin's jaw tensed, and something shifted in his eyes- as if he were about to tell her something, and then a piercing scream- Lil's scream, echoed through both their minds, followed by the sensation of being dumped into ice cold water, and without a word, Merlin grabbed Amelia's hand and ran towards the forest. And the lake.

X

Gwaine, feeling sick with guilt and empty with…everything else, trudged through the Rising Sun's doorway. The innkeeper nodded to him- yes, he was banished, but innkeepers generally didn't care about matters of state. Gwaine tucked himself in a corner and gratefully accepted the flagon of mead he was offered, taking a mouthful of the burning, bitter sweet liquid even as he flipped a coin to the man.

All day he'd searched Camelot- giving up all pretense of trying to hide; stopping people in the street, bursting into empty looking houses, scouting the edge of the forest…Nothing. He didn't know where she was again- had let her slip through his fingers- he didn't deserve her…

Briefly glancing at the alcohol in his mug, Gwaine slammed it down with a little more force than was necessary. He was just a tramp. Not a knight. Not a hero. Not a lover. And he didn't care- all he wanted, desperately wanted, was to find her. Make sure she was safe. Everything else could come later.

"But I _can't!_" He growled aloud in frustration, drawing a few curious looks from nearby tables. Gwaine sank further back into the shadows, deliberately hitting his head against the wall. He just didn't know where else to look any more.

Suddenly, a scream- _Lilian screaming_- burst through his mind, followed by the sense of being dumped into icy water. It was so strong that Gwaine took a moment to pat himself down, and when he realized he was dry, he was on his feet in a second, running and jumping over the tables to get to the door, ignoring the innkeeper and his patrons' angry shouts. Because that was Lil. And she was in trouble.

For once, he was going to do something right.

Blindly, Gwaine ran through the forest- ignoring branches whipping against him, lithely skipping over roots and rocks that threatened to trip him- unerringly lead by…something, which he strongly expected was at least part magic. He didn't care, he just followed it- a sense of sunshine and laughter and green leaves the colour of her eyes- fading.

Gwaine picked up the pace, breath rushing in and out of his body, burning his lungs and aching through his muscles. He ignored it, drawing his sword as the trees began to thin and he saw the lake glimmering through.

With a roar, he burst through the edge and onto the bank, peering out to the centre of the lake where a boat sat with a single person in it.

"MARCUS? YOU SCUM! IS THAT YOU?"

Not his most threatening speech, but the run and his fear had taken it out of him. The man in the boat looked up and waved, and then he stood, and Gwaine saw two heavy weights tied round his waist, and he jumped out, right next to where some bubbles were weakly reaching the surface.

Suddenly it all made sense- well, except for the villain's choice to end his life too, and Gwaine ran into the lake, fighting the weight of the water and finally diving under, his one thought to find Lil- to get her back, no matter what it cost him.

He'd only just realized. He couldn't live without her.

X

All Amelia could hear as she ran was the sound of Merlin's breathing. Occasionally he'd glance at her, but they ran without speaking, and she didn't return the glance. She was beginning to suspect there was a part of her that would always be… _concerned_ with him, but for now she focused on Lil. This was her job. Protecting and caring for her sister. Everything else (Merlin...) came later.

As they got closer to the lake they heard a man's voice shouting, and they quickly exchanged a glance, silently agreeing that it was Gwaine. There was a splash, and then the sound of someone wading into water, then another splash, and then…nothing.

Frowning, Amelia burst through the tree line, Merlin hot on her heels. The lake shore was deserted. An empty boat was floating way out, but otherwise there was nothing. She looked to Merlin, going to ask him what he thought had happened to Gwaine- but Merlin was staring at the empty wooden boat with a stricken expression, remembering a painful sight quite similar to when he'd given the corpse of his first love to a lake.

Amelia didn't know what was wrong, was itching to find her sister- already beginning to get a sickening idea of what had happened- but he looked so very…lost. Clumsy as he was, scatterbrained as he may appear to be- Merlin, in all the time she'd known him, had never looked _lost_- he always had a purpose, a meaning, an aim. So instead of demanding his opinion and disregarding his reaction- as she would have done previously no matter what, Amelia shyly took his hand.

Merlin's blue eyes flickered to her in a heartbeat. They were wet and shining in the faint light, and there was still the echo of old pain in his features, but they warmed considerably when he looked at her, he opened his mouth to say something, then shut it. Amelia tried to give him a little smile, in a heroic effort to momentarily put her worry aside.

Gwaine bursting through the surface of the lake for air ruined this a little. Instantly her attention was back on Lil- it had never really strayed far- though Amelia kept hold of Merlin's hand.

"Gwaine?" She called- he'd been about to go back under, but he looked up when he heard her and waved before diving back down again.

"Marcus must have pushed her in." Amelia stated, chastising herself for stating the obvious and acutely aware of the desperate worry in her voice. She went to go into the lake herself but Merlin stopped her. Realising that Gwaine probably had a better chance at finding her sister- being bigger, stronger, and already there, Amelia bit her lip hard and stood, fidgeting, waiting for him to burst back up again.

For what seemed like forever, she and Merlin stood sentinel whilst they waited for Gwaine, watching the flat, black lake. Amelia honestly couldn't imagine a world where her twin didn't exist any more. She felt sick- more than sick, just thinking about it. Hollow almost. But there was nothing she could do- at least not without just putting her and the weakened Lil in danger later by revealing their magic. The seconds eased by.

At last, Gwaine burst back through, but he was alone. Amelia tightened her grasp on Merlin's hand so much he gave a little hiss of pain, but this time she really wasn't listening. Because Lil had already been under far too long- because they'd already run out of time, and they needed a miracle. Lil's fingers twitched, and she turned to Merlin, opening her mouth- he got there first.

"Look, Mimi, I've got to do this. I won't let her die. Please…_please_ don't think any less of me."

And then he held up his hand, and without saying anything- without an incantation of any sort, his eyes turned gold, and a beam of light shot down through the depths of the lake and Gwaine followed it, coming back up later with a limp Lil and dragging them both into the boat. Amelia, seeing her sister pale, soaked and lifeless, lost any sane, rational part of her that had stuck around, and screamed.

"_LIL!"_

_

* * *

_

Oooh, so is she alive? And how will Mimi take the revelation of Merlin's magic? By sharing hers? And why did Marcus kill himself?

Find out next time with MnM, and please do take the time to comment- it's massively appreciated, special thanks to Kitty O for that!

Hope you liked it and thankyou for reading,

Kat


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